I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I'm beginning to feel like I'm the *only* person who knows nothing about them.
Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be 'up' on what everyone else was reading.
Have you ever felt pressured to read something because 'everyone else' was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it's your duty to keep up on current trends?
Well, probably if I were a reviewer I would have to keep up on current trends, wouldn't I? I would think there's not a particular market for reviewing, say, Charles Dickens' latest novel.....
I don't read much that is "new" (or "improved" for that matter). I get relatively few entries on my "to read" lists from anything new. And if I DID, it would be years before I got to it anyway, so it would no longer be new then, would it?
Once in a blue moon, there is so much hubbub over a book that I will pick it up to read--Harry Potter was the last one of those, I think. And that was because I had a 13 year old son when they started who was anxious to read the book.
So, nope, not trendy here.
How 'bout you?
And, by the way, where do you get your entries on your "To Read" list. You do have one of those lists, don't you????
I generally try to avoid anything trendy. If it's on that display case at the front of the bookstore, that's generally a discouragement for me. Though somehow I find myself reading more of those books than I think because they are given to me or strongly recommended by someone I trust.
And then my husband just got involved in this Amazon program where he gets free review copies as long as he posts a review. Which translates to I get to read them and write a review because I read faster and writing reviews is more up my ally than his.
These days my to be read list comes from predominantly from blogs.