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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Tuesday Thingers: Popularity

Today's topic is popularity.




What's the most popular book in your library?

The most popular book in my LT library is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. You're shocked, right??

Have you read it?

Yep, about a dozen times.

What did you think?

Oh, I adore Harry. While I think the first is the weakest book in the series (though still a work of genius), it sets the stage, and is a good starting point for younger readers. As I said, I've read it numerous times, and I never get tired of it.

How many users have it?

32,511 (with 438,221 members, I'm surprised it's that low - although, I do have two accounts, with one being for wishlist books only, so if you figure that in, it sort of warps any statistics).

What's the most popular book you don't have?

Well, the most popular book I don't have a copy of is The Catcher in the Rye, but I have read it. The most popular book I've not read and do not own would be Brave New World (with 13,005 owners). Of the top 25 most popular LT books, there are only 2 I don't own and haven't read. One being BNW, and the other is One Hundred Years of Solitude. Not sure what that says about me, but there you go.

How does a book's popularity figure into your decisions about what to read?

Aside from the fact that I'm more likely to have heard of a book if it's more popular, it doesn't really. Well, I say that, but really if a book is getting lots of great press, I probably would be more inclined to look it up. I recently bought The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which I'm sure I wouldn't have had I not heard such glowing things about it (I haven't read it, yet, so I don't know if it was a good decision or not). I do suppose that popularity affects my reading insofar as good reviews affect my purchases to a certain extent. It's not for the sake of reading what everyone else is reading, but because I figure if so many people like something I'm more likely to like it, too.

8 comments:

Lenore Appelhans said...

Never read Harry Potter - you're shocked right?

Anonymous said...

Yep - all of our family members are Harry Potter groupies...lol!

Anonymous said...

I remember that in Conspiracy Theory! I think I ran right over to Waldenbooks and bought a copy, just to tempt fate.

Michele said...

I liked Curious Dog. It's a bit different but I do recommend it. I look forward to seeing what you think.

Anonymous said...

I have never read Catcher in the Rye.

Anonymous said...

Mwah! I really disliked "Brave New World". I had to read it for AP English in high school and I never could understand why so many rave about it!

Anonymous said...

_The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time_ was the most popular book that I don't own. I got several comments on my TT post recommending it, so I've added it to my wish list. This type of personal recommendation means more to me than a bestseller list! It will be interesting to compare reviews when we've both read it.

Literary Feline said...

I haven't yet reread the series,but I do hope to one day. I am not too big on rereading with so many other books still waiting for me, but it's not for lack of desire. :-)

I wouldn't read a book just because it's popular, but some have certainly been brought to my attention that might not have been otherwise had they not gotten a lot of good reviews or recommendations from friends.