How to avoid mistakes when choosing a book

Have seen comical situations when people buy books and then don't know what to do with. Someone buys a book because of the beautiful cover, someone someone something about the books (maybe even just kidding), someone hooked a cool name...

Criteria, which is the book choice, dozens if not hundreds. And often they are wrong. Well, who wants to pay 300, 500, and often more rubles – heap of fused or stitched pieces of paper, which then does not know what to do: throw a pity, and shake off the no one.





In the present article I would like to share some thoughts about the choice of suitable books. Will allocate its own criteria, which helps me personally to accurately pick up interesting books to me.

 

Biography of the author. Biography for the author – that's all. Any author (though a beginner, though venerable, though classic, though not classic) can't create in a vacuum. He always relies on his own experiences, some of his experiences, emotions, memories and stuff like this. Accordingly, if the author, for example, actively and enthusiastically participated in combat operations, it is unlikely that it will write a lyrical and sentimental love poems (of course, anything can happen, but as a General rule).

On the other hand, if the author received some delicious and greenhouse American philological education, all life was exemplary and with anyone, except with their own kind, not communicate, then likewise it would be naive to expect him to bold descriptions of scenes of the chase, shooting or sexual violence.

Understand that You are interested, and match their interests with career of an author, a book which You intend to purchase.

 

Quotes. It happens that the author is close in spirit and themes of the author close to You, but unbearable the author's style. That is intolerable and shunned literally on a physiological level. You so much about the author and his work heard, and bought the coveted book, and from reading in the end gate.

To avoid this it is recommended to read at least a few fragments of the book that You are considering to purchase. As a rule, randomly plucked a pair of paragraphs is enough to understand that Your author or not, it "touches" the text or not. Fortunately, now there is the Internet, and to see any You are interested in the passage will not make the slightest labor, and literally a couple of minutes.





Reviews. Even knowing the biography of the author, the plot You are interested in the book and quotes from it, it is useful to go online and read the reviews of people about the relevant literary work. It may be that, even with favorable initial data owner You do not "catch", and the army banging out the feedback was in a similar situation.

It should not be forgotten that the opinions can be diametrically opposed, and sometimes partisan, including financial.

It is very desirable to perform as many resources as possible with the largest possible number of reviews, and even better – listen to the reviews personally, people You know, if You are so lucky, and Your friends had read an interesting book. Again, You in the aid of the Internet, well, meet well-read and open-minded people.

 

The marketability of books. Really only important criterion. If the author writes really well, he is inevitably in demand, and his books diverge from the shelves like hot cakes. Writes bad, respectively, creations not to sell to any forces, there is a classic no claim – and, as a consequence, the books stay on the shelves.

Of course, in issues of marketability is not the last role played by commercial and information "promotion". However, the law of the book (Yes, in fact, any other) market is that the stuff will never sell, which is you in this nonsense nor invest.

Why, for example, the books of Toni Morrison, with a long list of various awards, including the Nobel prize and sold in tens times less, than Danielle steel, significantly less favored by the propaganda and various premium committees? Also somehow it is impossible to blind the classic of Yevgeny Grishkovets, a few years ago failed, a similar attempt against Vladislav Surkov, although both are certainly more than worthy and nastlannye people. And so on and so forth – hundreds of examples.

Of course, there are subjects that simply are not interesting, but which could cause an extraordinary interest among the literary gourmet, but still the market demand is important in any field, and the literature here is absolutely no exception.

 

Also interesting: What to read: top 5 books by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

10 books that capture from the first sentence

 

In General, trust your taste, your reader's experience and intuition, while still relying on the most obvious criteria, the observance of which will greatly contribute to the correct choice.

And remember, "classic", "genius", "great" and other cheerful adjectives — it's all very relative. You may have their own opinion, including about the books.

A good fiction! published

 

Author: Ilya Pozhidaev

 



Source: Ilya Pozhidaev