I love this idea so much. Graham Greene is one of my favorite writers, and he's falling increasingly out of fashion. I always buy his books when I see them in bookstores because I want to give publishers an incentive to keep him in print.
I've noticed that Kurt Vonnegut, who used to be a household name, is now possibly becoming obscure; when I was in high school ("only" ten years ago), kids would pretend to have read him because it was so in vogue, but now the same age group doesn't even necessarily recognize his name.
My point: It's easy to imagine many writers just as great have been forgotten. I'm also interested in these old, forgotten books from a historical perspective; the penny dreadfuls show us different glimpses of society than, say, the work of George Eliot.
As a bookseller I actually would give you comfort in the fact that Vonnegut is literally always selling. Pretty much any title we have to restock regularly. I think Vonnegut's ethos is too greatly matched for our own to go out of style any time soon.
Graham Greene is also still in print, but is sold less (at least where I work). It's usually his four or so big titles that sell the most (The Quiet American and The End of the Affair having biggest numbers overall).
I'm hoping to eventually graduate to books that have famous authors, but have been less widely read than whatever book the author is famous FOR. Also: why this book and not that one? Which one SHOULD have made it big?
I’d love an age breakdown to know who’s buying Vonnegut. My concern isn’t that he’s obscure right now but that I can see him becoming obscure, based on completely anecdotal observations I’ve made.
I’d also love to read less popular books by classic authors. I’m reading early Steinbeck books right now and seeing why they weren’t the ones that made him famous, but then Lolita is probably my least favorite book by Nabokov, and I have deeply unpopular opinions on Shakespeare (Pericles is good, actually).
It's DEFINITELY young people reading Vonnegut. You shouldn't be too worried about ol' Kurt.
Steinbeck is popular with straight white young men, but less so than Hemingway. I think Nabokov's popularity outside of Lolita is actually increasing; I see people buying Speak, Memory and Pale Fire frequently. But also, despite the discourse surrounding Lolita (I'm a fan, but can see why one wouldn't be), it's still easily his most popular title by far. And EVERYONE reads it. Or at least, they BUY it.
No problem! Happy to keep chatting! Thanks for finding my little page. :)
Stupidly reassured about Vonnegut—thank you. So cool that you have all these insights! I used to live in Japan, where local news hasn’t died completely, and the local bookstore employees used to be interviewed every month to report on the best-selling titles in town. Was always interesting for me.
I love this idea so much. Graham Greene is one of my favorite writers, and he's falling increasingly out of fashion. I always buy his books when I see them in bookstores because I want to give publishers an incentive to keep him in print.
I've noticed that Kurt Vonnegut, who used to be a household name, is now possibly becoming obscure; when I was in high school ("only" ten years ago), kids would pretend to have read him because it was so in vogue, but now the same age group doesn't even necessarily recognize his name.
My point: It's easy to imagine many writers just as great have been forgotten. I'm also interested in these old, forgotten books from a historical perspective; the penny dreadfuls show us different glimpses of society than, say, the work of George Eliot.
Looking forward to this!
Thanks for your enthusiasm!
As a bookseller I actually would give you comfort in the fact that Vonnegut is literally always selling. Pretty much any title we have to restock regularly. I think Vonnegut's ethos is too greatly matched for our own to go out of style any time soon.
Graham Greene is also still in print, but is sold less (at least where I work). It's usually his four or so big titles that sell the most (The Quiet American and The End of the Affair having biggest numbers overall).
I'm hoping to eventually graduate to books that have famous authors, but have been less widely read than whatever book the author is famous FOR. Also: why this book and not that one? Which one SHOULD have made it big?
Ahhh, insider info, thank you!
I’d love an age breakdown to know who’s buying Vonnegut. My concern isn’t that he’s obscure right now but that I can see him becoming obscure, based on completely anecdotal observations I’ve made.
I’d also love to read less popular books by classic authors. I’m reading early Steinbeck books right now and seeing why they weren’t the ones that made him famous, but then Lolita is probably my least favorite book by Nabokov, and I have deeply unpopular opinions on Shakespeare (Pericles is good, actually).
Thank you for the book chitchat!
It's DEFINITELY young people reading Vonnegut. You shouldn't be too worried about ol' Kurt.
Steinbeck is popular with straight white young men, but less so than Hemingway. I think Nabokov's popularity outside of Lolita is actually increasing; I see people buying Speak, Memory and Pale Fire frequently. But also, despite the discourse surrounding Lolita (I'm a fan, but can see why one wouldn't be), it's still easily his most popular title by far. And EVERYONE reads it. Or at least, they BUY it.
No problem! Happy to keep chatting! Thanks for finding my little page. :)
Stupidly reassured about Vonnegut—thank you. So cool that you have all these insights! I used to live in Japan, where local news hasn’t died completely, and the local bookstore employees used to be interviewed every month to report on the best-selling titles in town. Was always interesting for me.
Ahhh Japan... your wonders never cease.
(would love to be interviewed by my local news outlet about bestsellers...)