Are you a reader? These days, kids are so enamored of their smartphone-tablet-convertible laptops, they don’t even think about reading anything other than poorly written text messages. It’s sad, but true. However, we can encourage the use of reading apps on those devices…or just use them ourselves so that we can stop banging our heads against the wall. Taking a look at this week’s top ten bestsellers in adult fiction, I was surprised by a few things. Let me tell you about them.
The biggest surprise is that the same book is on there three times. Yes. Three. Gone Girl in hardcover, trade paperback, and mass market paperback are all on the list at numbers eight, nine, and ten. I should mention that I am using the Nielsen statistics. The book was good. It wasn’t amazing. It was better than Gillian Flynn’s other books, but still not amazing. Ha! What am I thinking? A book doesn’t have to be good to be a bestseller! Look at Fifty Shades of Grey! But I digress…
Danielle Steel is still writing books and people are still buying them (Pegasus). Seriously. In my early twenties I had a brief Danielle Steel phase. This lasted until I realized that they were all basically the same book. Most of them had a woman in good circumstances who is betrayed and loses everything. She hits bottom and somehow, the man of her dreams shows up and saves her and they ride away into the sunset or to a house in the suburbs or something. Now I think I can just say they are all like one, long LifeTime movie.
Clive Cussler is still writing books about adventures in exotic places and for whatever reason I still don’t want to read them. Just not my thing, I guess. Havana is apparently about Cuba. And there’s treasure. So, there you go.
Remember when vampires were scary? Anne Rice wrote Interview with a Vampire and I was entranced. Now she has apparently resurrected him (can you do that with a vampire?) for Prince Lestat. My love affair with Rice’s books ended some time ago. I guess I’m harder to please than I thought.
Someone I’ve never heard of is on the list at number four! Patrick Rothfuss and his novel, The Slow Regard of Silent Things is apparently part of a series called Kingkiller Chronicles and is of the sci-fi/fantasy genre. Who knew? I’m just glad to see someone outside of the usual suspects.
Of course, with Game of Thrones popularity on television, George R.R. Martin has provided The World of Ice and Fire to explain who everyone is and what kingdom they hail from so fans like me can use it as the encyclopedia of all things GoT rather than try to remember where everyone is from.
John Grisham is at number two with Gray Mountain. This is a suspense novel, as opposed to his down-home novels. He’s introducing a new character, so perhaps this will be a series. Grisham is on my list as a pretty safe bet, so I might have to check this out.
And number one is Nora Roberts. I can’t believe it. How many books has she written? Why do all the covers look the same? How can a book like Blood Magick have an ominous title and still look all homey and romantic? I have no answers. I’ve never read any of her books. I don’t like the covers.
Yes. I’ve judged some of the books by their covers. With so many to choose from, sometimes you just have to go with your gut.