This week’s Booking Through Thursday question is:
Suggested by JM:
I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.
Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.
Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?
Me? Nope, not usually. I just had one such incident with The Gargoyle, everyone loves it....to me it is overworked yuk. I thought I might go back after the book bloggie peeps said how great it was, but I didn't feel any great need to.
The answer to the question is that if something that everyone likes is good I have no problem liking it, but if it isn't I have no problem letting people know that I did not like it at all.
I do read things that I would not usually read, but more because I am exposed to them. Book bloggies get me out of my general rut and on to new things. Most of the time I end up enjoying the books for sure :)
What about you?? Do you feel the pressure!?
ps, I got my picture above, and some good info on peer pressure here.
7 comments:
"The answer to the question is that if something that everyone likes is good I have no problem liking it, but if it isn't I have no problem letting people know that I did not like it at all."
Very well said :)
I'm confident in giving my opinion too.
I have been occasionally swayed by a book I read about on a blogger's website. I find that this is a large part of blogging, getting to know, in this case, authors you would otherwise never have read about.
On the other hand once I read a book which is suggested as good and do not like it I do not hesitate to give my opinion.
Sylvie
I think the only place I feel pressure to read a book is in my book club. We all get to pick a read and you know sometimes what they've picked isn't your cup of tea but it's a club and that's what you do. Otherwise I don't feel pressured although reviews for certain books will sway me but if I didn't like it I have no problem saying so.
By the way Bethany, I'm with you on The Gargoyle. I think I got to pg 35 before I said that's it. The story just wasn't grabbing me as it should and I have so many other books begging to be read.
Overworked yuk. Hah! I wish I had come up with that for Rushdie.
I do not. Actually, I gleefully buck the pressure to read whatever is 'in.' I actually dislike reading what everyone else is reading, what's popular at the moment, so sometimes it takes me years to read that popular bestseller everyone's talking about (I rejected Harry Potter until just before the first movie came out, lol), but that's okay, because I'll have read plenty of other awesome things while letting that time pass. :)
Valuable resource of peer pressure news summaries: http://ng2000.com/ng2000bb/YaBB.pl?num=1221458001
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