Top Ten Tuesday is brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish. Their question is, "What are the top ten trends you would like to see more/less of?" Picture me laughing maniacally and doing that weird finger touching thing in front of the face that villains do. It's time to piss a few people off. Muahahahaha.
More
1. Creativity- Of course there's plenty of creativity in regards to writing, but I mean as far as covers, packaging and binding. Visual Editions is an awesome company that worked with Jonathan Safran Foer on his Tree of Codes last year. I'm very excited for their upcoming "Book in a Box," (not to be confused with Justin Timberlake's epic SNL performance) that the husband and I have agreed to go halfsies on. I'm excited to see other ways in which publishing companies evolve to make things that are impossible to obtain through ebook formats.
2. Smart (New) Women- The publishing company obviously had to tighten their purse strings during the recession, meaning they signed fewer up and comers. While they still are acquiring some new names, I'd like to see them focus on signing some good "stuff" by women- not the fluff I'll talk about in in the "less" section.3. Interactive Companion Websites- Don't misunderstand me- I don't want technology to replace books, but I think well-done companions sites serve to enhance quality texts. For example, Marisha Pessl's for Special Topics in Calamity Physics or the upcoming Pottermore.
4. Quality Mysteries- I enjoy a good mystery once in awhile- key word being "good." There are a million books in this genre but so many are formulaic with rushed writing. There are a few better ones, like Fall by Colin McAdam and The Black Dahlia by James Elroy, but I really wish there was more quality mystery novels on the market.
5. Money- I hate that talented authors make so little money, considering the time, love, and effort they put into their novels. I understand the economics behind it, I do, but I wish we could see a trend that would reward those who produce quality, not just quantity.
Less
6. Vampire (and all the other mythical creatures associated with them) Books- Get off the Twilight Train, for Christ's sake! I don't even think Twilight should be on the Twilight Train. I think the Twilight Train should have fallen off it's tracks into a ravine five thousand feet below!
7. Mass Production- I know I've said it before, but we need to put more emphasis on quality, not quantity.
8. Celebrity Books- Tell-alls, memoirs, self-help, cookbooks, pretend novels- enough! Most are ghostwritten anyways. Can't they do something more legit, like create a perfume or handbag line?
9. The "Oprah's Book Club Syndrome"- What I mean by this is when a book becomes popular just because it seems like everyone has read it and people don't want to be left out. Right now it's The Help (not saying it's bad, since I haven't read it), a few years ago it was the Kite Runner, and we've also seen it with The Shack. Read something because you truly want to and are interested, not just because you think you have to.
And, for the grand finale...
10. eBooks- You knew it was coming. I don't want to hear your excuses and rationales. I am not jumping on that wagon and refuse to, so spare me the "I thought I'd never change, but once I did..." stories. I love paper, ink, and cardboard.
So you don't want to hear why I got a Kindle again? ok ok....::hangs head low::
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the less Vampires and less Celebrity books. I don't care about most of those "celebrities".
Now, I heard about The Help a while ago and didn't even know the movie was in the works and honestly wanted to read it... I'm glad I did because it's an awesome read. I know our taste are like night and day, but I think you'll understand the hype when you read it.
Let me know if you see the movie. I love Emma Stone, but am not sold on it yet...
ReplyDeleteI didn't include eBooks in my top ten, but I agree with you. I could never enjoy and appreciate a book if it wasn't an actual printed book in my hands.
ReplyDeleteIf we are going to make an ebook version of a story, why can't we make one that is interactive?
ReplyDeleteHere's my Top Ten list for this week:
Top Ten Trends You'd Like to See More Of
I hope you will stop by and join in Readerbuzz's August Giveaway!
I agree with all of them! Except one! I guess I'll never sell you on a kindle... :( hehe
ReplyDeleteI especially agree with the one about "quality not quantity." It's just ridiculous how many books these authors vomit out each year.
Another thing is the celebrity book craze. Just because you are celebrity, doesn't mean you automatically have an interesting life or something profound to say.
I love your list - especially wanting more good writing from women! I am so frustrated that right now in "literature" women are either overcome with eternal love for a non-human creature OR they are lost and can only find themselves through sex - that usually means cheating on or leaving their husbands. I may be biased, but women are more complex than that! :)
ReplyDeleteI have said it before and I will say it again, I am with you on the hatred of the e-books. Border's is going out of business, so I stopped in to get some cheap books. Let me tell you, it was completely depressing! Everything was in complete disarray and it was dark and dingy. It made me start to worry that all bookstores will go out of business! Where will I go for happy time if not the bookstore?! If a huge corporate giant like Border's can go down, what will happen to my ma & pop bookstore down the street?! AHHH! These are the things I worry about. If I had kids, I guess I would worry about kidnappings and stuff, but since I don't, my biggest fear is no bookstores!
ReplyDeleteBy the way... I have no idea why I chose to put an apostrophe in the word Borders. Whoops.
ReplyDelete