A different kind of mobile reading: Bookmobiles

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by issybird

Yeah, they're fungible. Not in the aggregate; indies are not a substitute for trad pub, but individual titles are mostly fungible. I.e., one can always find a book to read and most are willing and able to practice some self-restraint when necessary in terms of accessing a particular title.

Not really. Sure, one can always find something to read, but the industry is driven by best sellers and name recognition. A portion of the reader community reads generic books, i.e. doesn't care much about the author or title. But the money is in the best sellers and big name authors. The average title is not a substitution for picking up the latest best seller for most readers. That's why there are best sellers. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the massive difference in sales figures for titles.

Most are not willing to practice self-restraint. That's why so many hard back best sellers are sold at a price that far exceeds what the reader would pay if they were willing to wait even a few months.

[leebase]

One of the aspects of reading is the shared communal aspect. You want to talk about the latest GoT episode on Monday when everyone else is talking about it. Same with books. So you read whatever book Oprah is touting right now....and then participate in the discussion with your friends.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Not really. Sure, one can always find something to read, but the industry is driven by best sellers and name recognition. A portion of the reader community reads generic books, i.e. doesn't care much about the author or title. But the money is in the best sellers and big name authors. The average title is not a substitution for picking up the latest best seller for most readers. That's why there are best sellers. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the massive difference in sales figures for titles.

Most are not willing to practice self-restraint. That's why so many hard back best sellers are sold at a price that far exceeds what the reader would pay if they were willing to wait even a few months.

Everyone has to practice some self-restraint. How many best sellers is the average reader buying each year? Even the average heavy reader? So they buy the ones they want most and wait on alternatives for the less desirable. When you consider that reading 12 books a year is considered to be a lot, I don't see the lack of fungibility. It's a mix; people drink champagne and beer. Or eat spuds and caviar.

Originally Posted by leebase

One of the aspects of reading is the shared communal aspect. You want to talk about the latest GoT episode on Monday when everyone else is talking about it. Same with books. So you read whatever book Oprah is touting right now....and then participate in the discussion with your friends.

I made that point in this post. Again, I don't see that as a lot of books for any given person at one time.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

The average title is not a substitution for picking up the latest best seller for most readers. That's why there are best sellers. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the massive difference in sales figures for titles.

The wrong assumption is that a bestseller is inherently better than one that hasn't made it into a bestseller list. Even if they deserve the nomination bestseller, the only thing that says about it is that they sell more copies and or bring in more revenue. Most readers don't read a lot, so for most readers there is seldom the issue of running out of money. When money is no issue, they may as well pick out a book to buy, maybe even read, that is on some bestseller list. Most readers that read a lot are unable or unwilling to pay new release hardcover prices for every single book they read.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

The wrong assumption is that a bestseller is inherently better than one that hasn't made it into a bestseller list. Even if they deserve the nomination bestseller, the only thing that says about it is that they sell more copies and or bring in more revenue. Most readers don't read a lot, so for most readers there is seldom the issue of running out of money. When money is no issue, they may as well pick out a book to buy, maybe even read, that is on some bestseller list. Most readers that read a lot are unable or unwilling to pay new release hardcover prices for every single book they read.

I hear you about budgets. But even when I read a budget book...because of my budget...I can recognize the difference in quality from the typical best seller...even among genre books.

And I'm not speaking about misspelled words and the like.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

The wrong assumption is that a bestseller is inherently better than one that hasn't made it into a bestseller list. Even if they deserve the nomination bestseller, the only thing that says about it is that they sell more copies and or bring in more revenue. Most readers don't read a lot, so for most readers there is seldom the issue of running out of money. When money is no issue, they may as well pick out a book to buy, maybe even read, that is on some bestseller list. Most readers that read a lot are unable or unwilling to pay new release hardcover prices for every single book they read.

None of that changes the facts. Best sellers sell a lot more copies that the average book, that's why they are called best sellers. According to one list of top selling books for 2018, A Wrinkle in Time sold some 630,000 copies and Diary of a Wimpy Kid #13: Meltdown sold 1.1 million. I'm pretty sure that if Momma goes out and gets The Tracker Hive Academy: Year Two because it only cost $5 rather than $7 that A Wrinkle in Time or Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Meltdown cost, the reaction will not be one of great joy. It's just not the same.

I really do get that some people are just as happy with some inexpensive book they picked up, but that is very much the exception rather than the rule. There very much is a social aspect to entertainment. There isn't anything wrong to not watching the shows that everyone is talking about. I've never seen an episode of Game of Thrones or Stranger Things. I'm just as entertained watching BattleBots or Savage Builds, but that's me and I recognize that my taste isn't the norm in this matter. Books are no different.

[ottdmk]

I love bookmobiles. My childhood wouldn't have been the same without the Eastern Counties Regional Library bookmobile. Heck, I borrowed Terry Brooks' The Sword of Shannara from that bookmobile, and that had a huge effect on who I am today.