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Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings, where the blog's owner Heidi discusses a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.
Here is what is on deck this week:
ARE YOU MORE INCLINED/LESS INCLINED TO READ BOOKS THAT ARE COMPARED TO OTHER POPULAR BOOKS OR AUTHORS?
Premise: I rarely read popular books/authors as it is. It's not out of snobbery - it's just that I usually want something out of a book that most of them don't provide. I very rarely read straight-up fantasy - unless there's a specific premise. I'm not particularly keen on vampires, werewolves, elves or whatever. Me and retellings are mortal enemies 😳😂. I only read contemporary that have little to no romance - and we all know how rare that is.
Also, I'm a firm believer in uniqueness...or in the fact that the best things are, indeed, unique (though of course, nothing gets born into a void). Plus, comparisons should be taken with a grain of salt. This being said, I'm not completely averse to try something that is compared to something else. Or better, if I like an author and a debut one is compared to them, I may at least get curious enough to investigate further. But as a rule, that kind of gimmick doesn't really work for me. Also because the publishers aren't necessarily straightforward about the books they market...Bottom line, I can't remember actually buying a book that someone likened to some other book.
Well, that's it for now. And if you're interested in participating, here is the TMST prompt list for the rest of May and June:
- May 29th: Debut authors/New to me authors. What books have you read lately by new authors that you want to read more from?
- June 5th: Summer picks 2018
- June 12th: Midyear update: favorite reads, goal progress etc.
- June 19th: Cliffhangers: do they compel you to read more or steer you away?
- June 26th: What is worse: cliffhanger, abrupt ending or open ending?
As usual, lots of fun/thought-provoking prompts coming! My next TMST will be on May 29th. I hope lots of you are joining in too!
Now tell me something...do the "this meets that" or "in the vein of" or "perfect for the fans of" strategies work for you?
I actively avoid books with those comparisons. I fell for it a few times early on in my blogging days and that road leads to disappointment and reading slumps lol
ReplyDeleteKaren @ For What It's Worth
It's probably because the publishers drop names and titles with little carefulness. Most of the times, the comparisons aren't even accurate in the first place.
DeleteOnce you've been burned that's it! #trustissues lol
DeleteLOL, I understand.
DeleteI dislike book comparisons, too. I feel like it sets unrealistic expectations on a story, and I also want the book to be able to stand on its own merit. It shouldn't BE like any other book, you know? It should be something unique and original. (Retellings are a little different, and I think you should try Cinder and the rest of The Lunar Chronicles! It's GOOD and very unlike a retelling.)
ReplyDeleteL @ Do You Dog-ear?
Quote: "It shouldn't BE like any other book, you know? It should be something unique and original."
DeleteAlways! But publishers hope to draw attention to new books/authors that way, when they should probably pay more heed to the actual blurb (honestly, what's with blurbs nowadays? Either they're not accurate at all, or they give the whole book/twist away...😠).
Should I? I honestly skimmed those books altogether...I'll look into them then...
YES, YOU SHOULD.
DeleteAnd I know what you mean... I'm scared to read blurbs these days, because I feel like they give too much away.
I'm usually less inclined to read those books. Like you, I don't read a lot of the popular books. I'm usually just not interested, and many of the ones I have read, I didn't like. So when I see a book compared to them, I think, "Oh, well, I didn't like those books, so I guess I won't like this one," and move on even though I know the comparisons are rarely ever accurate anyway.
ReplyDeleteLOL, yes, there's that too. Sometimes comparisons work the wrong way.
DeleteI wonder why the gimmick is still used. Surely it must work for someone? or the publishers delude themselves? LOL.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, I have a feature on my blog (Readalikes) that basically relies on this premise. I compare popular books to less popular books of a similar variety in the hopes that more people will read them. Usually, in my opinion, the lesser known books are the better anyway.
ReplyDeleteI still fall victim to it all the time, even though I should know better. If it's compared to an author I love, I'll at least look into it. (Unless that author is John Green. Everyone wants to compare every contemporary YA book to John Green, and let's face it--he's the only one of his kind.)
Quote: "I compare popular books to less popular books of a similar variety in the hopes that more people will read them."
DeleteAh, but this is different from the way publishers do it. You've actually read the books - you go in depth - you tell the truth LOL. Like, sometimes I add a line to my reviews that says "Liked this book? You might also be interested in [book X]", and I link to it. They usually are loosely similar for a reason or another, but not copycats or something. And I only do that for books that do have a good match.
Quote: "Everyone wants to compare every contemporary YA book to John Green".
Haha, I noticed it.
"you tell the truth"
ReplyDeleteLOL. I hope I do! I think I would trust a blogger's opinion about similarities over a publisher's.
As Will-with-two-Ls would say...ABSO-TIVELY 😂.
DeleteI just feel like the comparisons are never right. I do think there are authors, who have a similar vibe, but I have not been able to find the similarities when they are suggested in a blurb. It's like name-dropping, you know?
ReplyDelete"A similar vibe" is probably the rightest way to describe what the publishers try to pass as a strong similarity. Since I don't read many popular books/authors, I don't know if those comparisons are accurate to begin with (though I've always suspected they weren't), so it's interesting that you say that, in fact, they don't hold...
DeleteThis is an interesting question. Hmm, when I first started seeing a lot of these (I think, around the time I started to use Goodreads) I was paying close attention to them. But I soon realized that 1) they are more often than not inaccurate, 2) that might be because the publishers are desperate to compare every book to the most popular of that genre smh. I adore Gone Girl, and at first bought some of the books marketed as "the next Gone Girl" but lol, they never even got close to it. These days I feel like nearly every fantasy is recommend to fans of Throne of Glass, and while I haven't read that, I'm fairly certain not everything is like it haha.
ReplyDeleteThe one instance when I got excited over a comparison lately was when a book was compared to the Breakfast Club (the movie), because wow, that's so cool!! Buuut... I never actually bought the book, because I found some... interesting reviews about it.
Fantastic post!
Quote: "the publishers are desperate to compare every book to the most popular of that genre".
DeleteHaha, "desperate" is probably the right word. Which is funny, since - at least based on the answers I got here - everyone is saying that these comparisons don't work...or even when they do (as it was the case with you and "the next Gone Girl" books) people realise they were a scam and aren't willing to burn their fingers again...so I suppose there is still a decent number of readers who fall for comparisons, only they aren't reading my blog 😉.