The Reading Vent & Rant Thread

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by issybird

Them’s the breaks. I already will never be able to read everything I’d like to read. If some of my filters are imperfect, it’s doesn’t mean they’re useless or counterproductive.

When I read blurbs, I’m looking to be sold. If I’m a likely prospect and instead I’m turned off, it’s not my problem, it’s the fault of the marketer. I’ll go with the books where the marketer respects my intellligence instead of thinking me an easy mark. “For fans of Stephen King, Barbara Cartland and Thomas Mann!” It’s really no different than a cheesy cover; it’s all part of the packaging.

Frankly, I pay no attention whatsoever to blurbs. I only read the synopsis and look inside.

[Quoth]

Just deleted two books with attractive covers, blurbs, decent formatting etc part of significantly priced series. Deleted on Amazon account too.
The blurb was misleading and "Free" to get you hooked on series was too expensive.

Plenty of more uplifting or entertaining books even 70+ years old and free. I'll never have time to read all the good books, so I won't waste time on Literary Masterpieces that are boring or coarse dreck offered as entertaining fiction.
This is the ebook rant thread?

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Just deleted two books with attractive covers, blurbs, decent formatting etc part of significantly priced series. Deleted on Amazon account too.
The blurb was misleading and "Free" to get you hooked on series was too expensive.

Even worse are books that charge you for the privilege of finding out it ends on a cliffhanger...

It's always helpful to check the negative Goodreads reviews before purchasing, even if you run the risk of spoilers.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by issybird

“For fans of Stephen King, Barbara Cartland and Thomas Mann!”

Oh c'mon. You would be doing yourself a real disservice if you didn't give THAT book a second glance

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Quoth

...part of significantly priced series

..."Free" to get you hooked on series was too expensive.

In general I'm not a fan of series. However, since they are nigh unavoidable, please make it a trilogy. Five is about my cap.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

That's because AFAIK you find your books going mostly by other people's reviews and opinions, from what I remember. I do my own filtering and covers are part of that. Not saying my way is better, I've just found it more useful for me than what others say.

That's mostly how I find books, yes. But I don't forego a bit of rando browsing from time to time, either.

When I'm browsing for books, I'm almost always doing so on a mobile device of some kind. As such, the covers are small enough that I can ignore them entirely. I'd have to consciously choose to blow one up enough to get a good look at it to draw an opinion of it. I choose to keep them as tiny little squares with fuzzy smudges of color in them that can be safely ignored.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

In general I'm not a fan of series. However, since they are nigh unavoidable, please make it a trilogy. Five is about my cap.

I'm the opposite. I don't particularly like singletons. Still, I'm not a fan of 20+ volumes either. 3-15 is my favorite range.

I don't mind cliffhangers. They're pretty much meaningless with ebooks, as you can immediately start the next volume (if it's been released, of course).

[maddz]

Covers are iffy for me. As I read on an e-ink reader which defaults to my current read's cover, I want something that's clear which clearly states the author and title (and possibly the series). What I don't really want is the default paperback cover which looks like a badly-erased pencil drawing in gray-scale. They may not look like much, but I like the Vorkosigan ebook covers. They're stylised drawings with good contrast and bear some relation to the story.

[Renate]

Personally I think that very few book covers are worthy of notice.
I've thought that it might be fun to have your "screen saver" a revolving carousel of lurid pulp fiction covers.
OTOH, that would hardly impress bystanders.

Maybe what we need is eReaders with two screen so that bystanders can see what you are reading, exactly like a physical cover.
Your cover might show, "I Was a Trollop for the FBI" while you are actually reading "À la Recherche du Temps Perdu".

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

In general I'm not a fan of series. However, since they are nigh unavoidable, please make it a trilogy. Five is about my cap.

Same here. Although these days, my cap may be closer to four. When it comes to books, I'm usually looking for a fling, not a long-term, exclusive relationship.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I'm the opposite. I don't particularly like singletons. Still, I'm not a fan of 20+ volumes either. 3-15 is my favorite range.

fifteen

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Same here. Although these days, my cap may be closer to four. When it comes to books, I'm usually looking for a fling, not a long-term, exclusive relationship.

Why exclusive? I usually read something else between parts of the series. The best of both worlds.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Why exclusive? I usually read something else between parts of the series.

I wind up forgetting details. Also, I tend to find I'm not in the mood to go back to the series.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I know it is annoying, but it is natural to compare something you are hoping to be popular to some other already popular thing. It's not just books. I've seen the same thing happen with music, movies, TV shows, etc.



Doing that, you will miss some good stuff. Here are three good books with unfortunate quotes:

I Travel by Night and Last Train from Perdition by Robert McCammon
“Perfect for Deadwood fans and those who enjoy the American Vampire graphic-novel series by Scott Snyder. Clear a couple of hours, you’ll want to devour this in one sitting.” —Booklist

The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek by Rhett McLaughlin, Link Neal
“Stranger Things meets the South. Chilling, hilarious, and suspenseful—I loved it!”—Felicia Day

Blacktop Wasteland by S. A. Cosby
"Like Ocean’s Eleven meets Drive, with a Southern noir twist, S. A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland is a searing, operatic story of a man pushed to his limits by poverty, race, and his own former life of crime."

This book was also Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner, New York Times Notable Book, NPR’s Best Books of the Year, BookPage’s #1 Mystery and Suspense of the Year, Sun Sentinel’s #1 Best Mystery of the Year

So you might miss some great stuff because of stupid comparisons.

Yes, I would pass by those books. There's enough to read that descriptions like those are a no go. Please someone tell these authors to fix the description.

If they want more sales, they need to dump the stupid comparisons that mean nothing and just turn off a lot of people.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

While I almost never even consciously see ebook covers any more. Precisely because I KNOW they're indicative of nothing. The old maxim exists for a reason. *shrug*

The first thing I see is the cover and if it's lousy, on I go.