There’s been much fulminating in the books world lately that The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown’s eagerly anticipated follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, is bad Read the full post.
Aug 14
2009
09:20 AM ET
Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol': Why is the book biz so scared?
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So silly. How much money are publishers making off of Dan Brown read-a-likes? A lot! Please when people haven’t been able to buy the latest Dan Brown book they have making due with the countless scores of other books that were published on the coattails of The Da Vinci Code. Now people will run out and buy the new book – read it in a weekend and be clamoring for the next big thing. Please, teen and childrens publishing industry has made a mint off of parents and kids wanting similar books to Twilight and Harry Potter and this is no different. Methinks they are a bunch of whiners.
Okay, I have another stioesuggn. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. It’s about a young boy growing up in WWII era South Africa, and how the various people he meets teach him in some way how one person can be a force for change and a power in their own lives. While the book’s message and protagonist are anti-Apartheid and anti-racism, because of the time and place in which it takes place, there are a lot of racial slurs, which the author uses to show how dehumanized the black population of South Africa was at the hands of the Boer class. There is some oddness near the beginning, where the little boy notices a difference between himself and some other boys which might make some people uncomfortable, but the overall message of the book and the affection you have for the characters- some of which are complicated and flawed to the extreme but have redeeming qualities makes this a spectacular read. This book and The Book Thief really changed the way I look at characters and reminded me why I really love to read.
I think the worst thing for the book business in this country is our education system.
I am not a big Dan Brown fan , prefering to buy the occasional book at a discount. But I do agree with the logic- getting a crowd into a bookstore is always a good thing, regardless of the specific , decidedly un-intellectual reason!
“(Imagine if the movie studios tried something similar so they wouldn’t have to compete with the box office returns of G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra.)”
Umm..that is EXACTLY what movie studios do. They collude on release dates so there is only one big movie out each week to maximize profits for all of them.
It’s easier for brick-and-morter booksellers to point the finger than to ask what they are doing to hasten their own deaths. I used to love browsing. I don’t and can’t any more. All they carry are best-sellers. The joy of browsing to find odd books and unique authors is gone because they need the shelf space for Brown and Rowling.
Instead of spending so much time, energy, and money complaining about how the Dan Brown book may (or probably wont) ruin the book world, how about they take advantage of the non-avid reader coming into a bookstore (or online bookseller) for once this year, and use that time, energy, and money to make some interesting merchandise/advertisements to grab the attention of the “ooh shiney” set so maybe they do pick up a second or third book? Isn’t getting the customer in the door half the battle?
Well,I’m a book merchandiser and from my point of view, I think that anything that draws people into the stores to read is a good thing. I personally love to read which is one of the reasons I do what I do in the first place, and to see people get excited about reading an upcoming book is wonderful! Said book is not required to be a literary masterpiece for someone to get pleasure out of reading it — as many people have said, to each his own. I loved that Harry Potter brought the concept of reading alive for a whole group of younger (and older!) people. A lot of people like the Twilight books, too; I’m happy they’re reading instead of endlessly playing video games! So, I think that if publishers are whining about Dan Brown dominating sales and supposedly ruining book sales, they’re just idiotic or, more likely, jealous that it’s not their publishing house with a “blockbuster” title coming out. I always try to help my customers find books that they like to read so I look forward to helping them with Dan Brown and/or whatever else they might be interested in.
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Thirded.You are not prepared for this ireses, Mark.You know nothing, Mark.This ireses starts out as classical high fantasy: we are in Westeros, in the Seven Kingdoms and meet the House of Stark: the lords of Winterfell and the North, but also a family with its ups and downs. Honor and tradition mean a lot to Lord Eddard, his wife catelyn and his 6 children.King Robert makes his way north to declare his old friend Eddard Stark his Hand, which is the second highest position any man could achieve. But this could mean more trouble than blessing for Ned and his family, because the last hand, his childhood mentor Jon Arryn died suddenly and King Robert has more enemies than friends close to himself and there are still those in the realm that call Robert usurper, because he won his throne by rebelling against the mad king’ Aerys Targaryen.Despite all of its fantasy, pseudo-medieval setting and outlandishness these books are about people. About characters. There are many different kinds of characters, some white and black, but most in the most intriguing shades of grey. The fifth book was just released and HBO produces a show based on the books (with Sean Bean as Ned Stark!)
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