I walked
past a wine merchant's recently. A board in the doorway proclaimed:
"We may not have cable ties or rope, but we do have over 50 shades of wine!"
Is this
not astonishing? I can't recall any book influencing popular culture in this
way, not even the Harry Potter
series, which Fifty Shades has
displaced as the best selling book ever in the UK. And it's smut! Reviews and
articles in newspapers and magazines have to shy away from details of the
content to avoid giving apoplexy to retired Generals and their maiden aunts.
Now, I
love Jay's review of Fifty Shades,
and I'm not just saying that to try to get a photo of her in heels and
stockings that goes higher than the knee. We promised that this wouldn't be a
blog about the book, and as things evolve that will be true – probably – but since it was the starting
point it will feature for a little while. I'm writing here about reviews in
general, though.
Are you
influenced by reviews? Would you buy a book based on a review alone? I admit
that I'm easily swayed by reviews, but there was one notable exception.
It was a
review of the Harry Potter books, at the point where I think the first three
had been published. The reviewer, an author of children's fiction (whose name
I'd never heard) had constructed a vitriolic article deriding the books and
deploring their effect on children: children, apparently, were reading the
books over and over and ignoring all others.
"Oho,"
I thought. "There's some serious sour grapes going on here. Mrs. Reviewer
doesn't like the fact that children are reading J. K. Rowling's books rather
than her's. And J. K. Rowling is making lots of money from her books whilst Mrs
Reviewer is reduced to earning a crust by writing about how bad they are. Which
must be really galling!"
So I went
and bought the first Harry Potter, loved it, and have devoured the rest
since. All on the basis of a very
negative review.
I may buy
a book because of a positive review. A negative one is likely to put me off.
But most of my reading is guided by favourite authors, genres, and "must
read" recommendations from friends, though that last category carries a
filter warning as well, as some of my friends may be very dear to me, but they
have crap taste in books.
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