Choosing what to read
September 3rd, 2005 by Bill
Again, I’m a little off the topic of Web and business writing, but this is sort of on the topic of marketing - the marketing of books. This is a confession of sorts. I’m owning up to how I choose what to read these days. And whining a little bit too.
This little rant was prompted when I came across Questions on my Mind, a post on the blog Citizen of the Month. One of the questions was, “With so many books out there, how do you choose what book to read next?â€
Despite being a reasonably well-read person, reasonably literate and so on, I often choose books based on their covers and, even more often, they’re bulk - or lack thereof.
I hate thick books. They seem to assume a person is immobile, planted like a potato in a single location. Or, if we do move around, we do it arms free, without encumbrance.
Well, I usually have to lug a damn laptop around. The book(s) I always have with me are usually tucked into the laptop’s case. You know, the one with the handle and shoulder strap.
So where do you put the books that are thicker than bricks? Any book more than an inch thick is a pain in the bum.
Frankly, no matter how good a book is, once you start a thick book it feels as if it will never end. You read for days on end and yet it feels you’ve barely made a dent. Meanwhile, other interesting books are piling up. But you can’t start them because you’re wrestling with a behemoth.
I would rather a thick book be arbitrarily split into three thinner books than have a book that constantly feels like an albatross.
Critically speaking, I’ve found in most cases books that are really long are also books that desperately need an editor. They simply can’t justify their length. They’re hopelessly redundant or filled with needless passages that relate to nothing relevant to the story.
So … when I choose books, I look at how thick it is. And my first response to a thick book is, "Ah, gee … this’ll take forever. And I’ll have to lug the damn thing around." Some books seem intriguing, and I want to read them, but there’s always this nagging sense that it will mean a three month project. Even if that isn’t the truth - it feels that way. So I’m immediately dissuaded from choosing it.
"Naw … maybe I’ll get it some other time." (I seldom do.)
When I was younger, I loved lengthy books. But then, I had more time. That just isn’t my world today.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where many people have a consumer mentality, meaning if something doesn’t have bulk or a shiny gleam, they think they are getting ripped off. My sense is we get padded books so the challenged can feel they are getting their money’s worth.
It’s the literary equivalent of super-sizing meals, or those “all-you-can-eat†deals. Yeah, you get a lot. But it’s a lot of crap.
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