NY Times Best Sellers - Page 2

Asawi · 04-22-2011, 01:27 PM

I voted "no", but that's probably not entirely true. I'm sure I read titles from the list, but I don't purposely go look for them. I don't check out what's on the list, and the phrase "NY Times Best Selling" really doesn't add to an author's value to me. I have more than once raised my eyebrows thinking "Really?" when I've seen it in descriptions of what's in my opinion is... eh... not very good...

read.lover · 04-22-2011, 02:05 PM

I completely agree...the 'bestselling books' are simply overpriced and usually not so good in general - you can tell just by looking at how long they actually stay in the chart -majority are kicked out in 3 weeks

also, almost always I see those books which are not bestsellers yet (published 1-2 days ago) as featured on ebookwebsites - meaning they are simply only the promoted ones which we buy as we have no idea what else to read...well well

The Terminator · 04-22-2011, 05:36 PM

NY times bestsellers are pretty much all I read. But I don't buy them I get them from the online library.

P.S @ "read.lover" under what device you have, you have entered your E-mail address......

GA Russell · 04-22-2011, 10:13 PM

I belong to the Doubleday Book Club. Typically, 8 of the Times' Top 10 Fiction are available from the Club, and have been hyped for a few weeks before their release dates.

As a result, I see the Times list to be hype-driven rather than reflective of merit.

Worth noting, I think, is that many of the books nowadays are the umpteenth episode in a series. In mainstream jazz, by the time a musician got to be popular, typically his best recordings were behind him; and I suspect that this is also true for many popular fiction writers.

chrisanthropic · 04-23-2011, 04:20 AM

I think the only Author I read who shows up on there is Jim Butcher with his Dresden Files books, but like most of the others on this thread I don't check the list so I can't really be sure.

Also, I tend to be biased against newer fiction...I admit it. I tend to stick with either authors I know, things recommended from people I trust, or self-published books.

JDK1962 · 04-23-2011, 09:37 AM

I was listening to the NYT Book Review podcast this AM, and in the "Bestseller News" segment, there were several minutes on the Three Cups of Tea scandal...one piece of which alleges that Mortensen had his charity buy promotional copies of his book retail, rather than in bulk, so that the sales would be counted in the bestseller list tally.

BTW, I highly recommend this podcast. Smart people talking about books and publishing, what's not to like? This week's podcast brought two new books to my attention to add to my "To Be Read" list (1861 and In the Plex, both of which will probably show up on the non-fiction bestseller list within the next few weeks), and one new entry on the fiction bestseller list (Please Look After Mom, a translation from a Korean bestseller) that sounded perhaps worth a look.

All grist for the mill...

SensualPoet · 04-23-2011, 10:41 AM

12 Weeks on the New York Times E-Book Bestseller List (Current Standing)

Sara Gruen - Water for Elephants (1) - Algonquin (Independent)
Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (8) - Knopf Doubleday
Kathryn Stockett - The Help (11) - Penguin Group
Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Played With Fire (17) - Knopf Doubleday
Stieg Larsson - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (22) - Knopf Doubleday
Abraham Verghese - Cutting For Stone (23) - Knopf Doubleday

So, six titles have been on the e-book list since it started 12 weeks ago. Interesting how only one is from the Agency Five publishers and the leading title -- from Workman Publishing's Algonquin imprint -- isn't even part of Agency Six. The four Knopf Doubleday titles are part of the Random House group which was the last of the agency publishers to join the price fixing scheme.

Shimarenda · 04-23-2011, 10:58 AM

My reading choices are idiosyncratic, so I doubt I've read many bestsellers even accidentally. The downside is that no one ever knows what I'm talking about when I try to refer to something I've read to make a point.

Asawi · 04-23-2011, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

12 Weeks on the New York Times E-Book Bestseller List (Current Standing)

Sara Gruen - Water for Elephants (1) - Algonquin (Independent)
Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (8) - Knopf Doubleday
Kathryn Stockett - The Help (11) - Penguin Group
Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Played With Fire (17) - Knopf Doubleday
Stieg Larsson - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (22) - Knopf Doubleday
Abraham Verghese - Cutting For Stone (23) - Knopf Doubleday

Ooops! Turns out I DO read from the bestseller list!

Water for Elephants - have read, but not very carefully, only liked the parts with "old Jacob", hated the rest...
Stieg Larsson - Hey, I'm Swedish, of course I've read them! (In Swedish)
The Help - on my TBR. Have been there a while... .
Cutting for stone - on my "maybe TBR"

On the other hand, there are many bestselling authors that have about a snowball's chance in you know where to make it to my reader.

mayoi · 04-23-2011, 02:52 PM

Need to explain: I read whatever appeals. If it's on a bestseller list that's fine, but I don't need to read the latest and "greatest." Years past, spent waiting for books to be available at the library, got me in that habit.

Now if something sound good and it's at a decent price I'll buy it. The Kindle makes that very easy - and a little too tempting!

SensualPoet · 04-23-2011, 04:45 PM

Voted - Need to explain.

I read what interests me. Best seller status might catch my eye with something I'm unlikely to discover on my own; the same applies to short-lists of award winners like the Giller or Man Booker prizes.

But I tend to read a wide range of mysteries (not thrillers, not horror, not vampire, but mysteries almost always with someone standing in as a detective) and these generally don't make it onto best seller lists. So -- James Peterson, for example, is too gory for me and while he writes "detectivish mysteries", they are more thrillers and they are not my cup of tea.

wvcherrybomb · 04-23-2011, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMB

It is a stupid prejudice, but I am often put off buying books just because they are bestsellers. Wherever I look I see people reading them and I feel disinclined to join the herd.

Sometimes I catch up with them years later.

I bought one of those Girl Who... books because it was heavily discounted, but I still haven't managed to raise enough enthusiasm to start reading it.

I am only too well aware that this is not an admirable characteristic of mine.

Wow, I could have written this! Ditto to everything right down to the discounted "Girl Who" book that I haven't had any real desire to read.

Belfaborac · 04-23-2011, 05:34 PM

That goes for me too, except for the book in question.

I've read a good number of NYT best sellers though, although I only know that because they have it printed on the cover. I've never actually read the list itself, nor any other such list, and generally I read them years after they've been on it.

Rainmaker · 04-23-2011, 11:58 PM

Living away from most american/british literature, means that only best-seller titles are imported here.
Though I don't check the NYT best seller; i 've seen that I tend to read best-sellers; primarily because they are easy to read (not too much deep vocabulary), and i m trying to perfect my english vocabulary.

mldavis2 · 04-24-2011, 06:48 AM

[QUOTE=Rainmaker;1507450 i 've seen that I tend to read best-sellers; primarily because they are easy to read (not too much deep vocabulary), and i m trying to perfect my english vocabulary.[/QUOTE]

I find the most difficult reading comes from translations. Whether this is due to the depth of the original vocabulary or the awkward use of a thesaurus by the translator is not always clear, but often translations require frequent reference to a dictionary, even for native speakers of the translated language.

View Poll Results: Do you read NY Times Bestsellers
Yes	32	36.78%
No	39	44.83%
Need to Explain	16	18.39%
Voters: 87. You may not vote on this poll

04-22-2011, 02:05 PM	#17
read.lover Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: al.justinska@gmail.com	Featured bestsellers I completely agree...the 'bestselling books' are simply overpriced and usually not so good in general - you can tell just by looking at how long they actually stay in the chart -majority are kicked out in 3 weeks also, almost always I see those books which are not bestsellers yet (published 1-2 days ago) as featured on ebookwebsites - meaning they are simply only the promoted ones which we buy as we have no idea what else to read...well well

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04-22-2011, 01:27 PM	#16
Asawi Gadgetoholic Posts: 1,467 Karma: 3865860 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Sweden Device: Kobo Libra2, Tolino Vision 6	I voted "no", but that's probably not entirely true. I'm sure I read titles from the list, but I don't purposely go look for them. I don't check out what's on the list, and the phrase "NY Times Best Selling" really doesn't add to an author's value to me. I have more than once raised my eyebrows thinking "Really?" when I've seen it in descriptions of what's in my opinion is... eh... not very good...

04-22-2011, 05:36 PM	#18
The Terminator Retired Posts: 2,552 Karma: 37638420 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Vancouver Island Canada Device: Kobo Touch, Optimus One (2.3), Nexus 7 (4.2)	NY times bestsellers are pretty much all I read. But I don't buy them I get them from the online library. P.S @ "read.lover" under what device you have, you have entered your E-mail address......

04-22-2011, 10:13 PM	#19
GA Russell Argos win Grey Cup! Posts: 7,677 Karma: 31487351 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	I belong to the Doubleday Book Club. Typically, 8 of the Times' Top 10 Fiction are available from the Club, and have been hyped for a few weeks before their release dates. As a result, I see the Times list to be hype-driven rather than reflective of merit. Worth noting, I think, is that many of the books nowadays are the umpteenth episode in a series. In mainstream jazz, by the time a musician got to be popular, typically his best recordings were behind him; and I suspect that this is also true for many popular fiction writers.

04-23-2011, 04:20 AM	#20
chrisanthropic Fiend Posts: 148 Karma: 559930 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: none	I think the only Author I read who shows up on there is Jim Butcher with his Dresden Files books, but like most of the others on this thread I don't check the list so I can't really be sure. Also, I tend to be biased against newer fiction...I admit it. I tend to stick with either authors I know, things recommended from people I trust, or self-published books.

04-23-2011, 09:37 AM	#21
JDK1962 Groupie Posts: 154 Karma: 2054094 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Boulder, CO Device: Kindle Voyage, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (for PDFs)	I was listening to the NYT Book Review podcast this AM, and in the "Bestseller News" segment, there were several minutes on the Three Cups of Tea scandal...one piece of which alleges that Mortensen had his charity buy promotional copies of his book retail, rather than in bulk, so that the sales would be counted in the bestseller list tally. BTW, I highly recommend this podcast. Smart people talking about books and publishing, what's not to like? This week's podcast brought two new books to my attention to add to my "To Be Read" list (1861 and In the Plex, both of which will probably show up on the non-fiction bestseller list within the next few weeks), and one new entry on the fiction bestseller list (Please Look After Mom, a translation from a Korean bestseller) that sounded perhaps worth a look. All grist for the mill...

04-23-2011, 10:41 AM	#22
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	12 Weeks on the New York Times E-Book Bestseller List (Current Standing) Sara Gruen - Water for Elephants (1) - Algonquin (Independent) Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest (8) - Knopf Doubleday Kathryn Stockett - The Help (11) - Penguin Group Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Played With Fire (17) - Knopf Doubleday Stieg Larsson - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (22) - Knopf Doubleday Abraham Verghese - Cutting For Stone (23) - Knopf Doubleday So, six titles have been on the e-book list since it started 12 weeks ago. Interesting how only one is from the Agency Five publishers and the leading title -- from Workman Publishing's Algonquin imprint -- isn't even part of Agency Six. The four Knopf Doubleday titles are part of the Random House group which was the last of the agency publishers to join the price fixing scheme.

04-23-2011, 10:58 AM	#23
Shimarenda Addict Posts: 230 Karma: 68186 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Athens, Georgia Device: Kindle 3, Nook Tablet	My reading choices are idiosyncratic, so I doubt I've read many bestsellers even accidentally. The downside is that no one ever knows what I'm talking about when I try to refer to something I've read to make a point.

04-23-2011, 02:52 PM	#25
mayoi Member Posts: 127 Karma: 40426 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: USA Device: PW2 and K3 Kindles, TF101	Need to explain: I read whatever appeals. If it's on a bestseller list that's fine, but I don't need to read the latest and "greatest." Years past, spent waiting for books to be available at the library, got me in that habit. Now if something sound good and it's at a decent price I'll buy it. The Kindle makes that very easy - and a little too tempting!

04-23-2011, 04:45 PM	#26
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Voted - Need to explain. I read what interests me. Best seller status might catch my eye with something I'm unlikely to discover on my own; the same applies to short-lists of award winners like the Giller or Man Booker prizes. But I tend to read a wide range of mysteries (not thrillers, not horror, not vampire, but mysteries almost always with someone standing in as a detective) and these generally don't make it onto best seller lists. So -- James Peterson, for example, is too gory for me and while he writes "detectivish mysteries", they are more thrillers and they are not my cup of tea.

04-23-2011, 05:34 PM	#28
Belfaborac Wizard Posts: 1,498 Karma: 5199835 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Norway Device: Sony PRS-505, PRS-950	That goes for me too, except for the book in question. I've read a good number of NYT best sellers though, although I only know that because they have it printed on the cover. I've never actually read the list itself, nor any other such list, and generally I read them years after they've been on it.

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04-23-2011, 11:58 PM	#29
Rainmaker Zealot Posts: 103 Karma: 185586 Join Date: Apr 2011 Device: Kindle 3G	Living away from most american/british literature, means that only best-seller titles are imported here. Though I don't check the NYT best seller; i 've seen that I tend to read best-sellers; primarily because they are easy to read (not too much deep vocabulary), and i m trying to perfect my english vocabulary.

04-24-2011, 06:48 AM	#30
mldavis2 Coffee Nut Posts: 410 Karma: 298350 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Missouri Device: Kindle 3; K4PC; Calibre	[QUOTE=Rainmaker;1507450 i 've seen that I tend to read best-sellers; primarily because they are easy to read (not too much deep vocabulary), and i m trying to perfect my english vocabulary.[/QUOTE] I find the most difficult reading comes from translations. Whether this is due to the depth of the original vocabulary or the awkward use of a thesaurus by the translator is not always clear, but often translations require frequent reference to a dictionary, even for native speakers of the translated language.