Comments on: Recent Reads and Am I Paperback Snob?

By: The Writer’s Coin » Blog Archive » The Good Guy by Dean Koontz—Review

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:09:52 +0000

[...] kinds of “popular” books without every having read them. I wondered if maybe I was a book snob. So I decided to go out there and pick a book based solely on how well it was selling. I found The [...]

By: Annie

Annie — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:58:45 +0000

Ah, Frugal Dad, you’re falling into the publishing ‘trap,’ trying to change what makes you unique - your voice - for what will sell. With 1.2M rejections annually, publishers won’t flock to your work because it incorporates elements shown to be successful, (not that corporate publishing is all that correct about what the public wants to read - think Kiyosaki mentioned above, The Chicken Soup guys, Grisham - all rejected numerous times ) they’ll flock if you can get their attention. No easy task, which is why I created Frugal Fiction, an ebook site for independent authors to let the marketplace decide. We can’t all be best-sellers, but we probably have words that will wow a thousand, or five thousand, or ten thousand people, if only they knew about us. In truth, what authors really need to understand isn’t writing, it’s marketing.

By: Writer's Coin

Writer's Coin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:47:15 +0000

I agree with those comments. I loved DaVinci code because I just couldn’t put it down. No small feat.

I loved the Alchemist (I read it in SPanish) but his other books all pretty much suck (with one or two exceptions). They too bland and not nearly as good as Alchemist. Me makes me angry these days but he makes his money, so I group him with Robert Kiyosaki.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:21:12 +0000

Not that the writing was prize winning, but Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code was definitely a page turner.

I also loved Nelson Demille’s Plum Island - the main character is interesting and kept me reading.

I understand your aversion to popular press, but there are some benefits to “light” fiction - I consider it like TV for your brain - a good sedative at night or something to do for entertainment. Just food for thought.

By: QL Girl

QL Girl — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:18:42 +0000

lol. I know what you mean. For me they fall into the “trend” category, and for the most part I try to stay away from trends. However, I do fall victim to them once in a while. I know some people hate Dan Brown, but I really liked Angels & Demons! All religious controversy aside, it kept my attention and kept me guessing (sometimes), and those are qualities I enjoy in books! I liked the DaVinci Code, but not as much as A&D. It was also just too embarrassing to be caught reading it in public. (While I was reading it I also saw 8 people reading it in the airport within just a few minutes. Eeek! I wanted to hide it and pretend it wasn’t mine…)

I’m not sure if this falls into the “Best-Seller” category, but I also love The Alchemist. A very sweet story, and I love the message it sends.