Amazon discontinued the ability to create images using their SiteStripe feature and in their infinite wisdom broke all previously created images on 12/31/23. Many blogs used this feature, including this one. Expect my archives to be a hot mess of broken book cover images until I can slowly comb through 20 years of archives to make corrections.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Top Five: Picking Up Steam

Yeah, so I dropped out of blogosphere over the weekend. I don't know about you all, but I have a damn hard time blogging on weekends. Too much real life "stuff" vying for my time. So to kick my butt into gear I thought I'd do another Top Five feature (it's been a while). These are currently the books gaining some ground, and popularity, among our library patrons. It's full steam ahead!


Dark Curse by Christine Feehan - OK, I'm going to be blunt here. This one kind of surprises me. Mostly because I know several readers who started out gangbusters for the Carpathians and over the years their interest has waned. My theory on why this book is currently near the top of our holds queue? Feehan might be to romance readers what Patricia Cornwell is for me. She ain't an autobuy anymore, but they just can't cut the cord completely. Which means they don't want to pay hard cover price for it, but they still want to read it because they just can't help themselves. So it's onward and upward to the local library.




Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley - Buckley traditionally does fairly well amongst the library reading crowd but I think interest has jumped for his latest for two reasons. 1) The movie version of Thank You For Smoking was well-received and in my opinion, very good and 2) Buckley was recently profiled on CBS Sunday Morning.









The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - Traditional rule of thumb in the library world: Translations Don't Move. They tend to be shelf-sitters. I don't know why, they just are. This book is proving to be the exception to the rule. Translated from the original Swedish, it received smashing reviews across the board. Also, the author is dead. Same phenomenon that applies to the art world. Artist becomes a big hit after they die - which frankly I think is depressing as hell, but it does give the publisher another promotional "angle."





All Things Charlaine Harris - I tried to tell them. Really I did. Over a year ago I told staff that Harris could pick up steam once the HBO series based on her Sookie Stackhouse series hits the airwaves. I find this particularly interesting because while the buzz on the TV show has been decidedly very mixed, it's still enough to generate interest in the books among our library patrons. Go figure.








Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs - I tend to whine a lot about Wiggs because damn, I love her historicals and she left me! She left me for the Big Bad World Of Contemporary Women's Fiction! But you know what? It's working out extremely well for her, at least in terms in library statistics. I really started noticing a jump in circulation with her Lakeshore Chronicles series. Demand for Just Breathe now finds her at an "all-time high" for us. So go on with your bad self Susan!

10 comments:

Nonnie said...

I agree that Feehan has quickly left my auto-buy list. I still feel the need to follow the stories, but I no longer feel the need to buy the books. Cornwell went the same way many books ago...to the point where I haven't even bothered to read them from the library. There are quite a few authors who have gone by the wayside, both by being read via the library or just stopping all together. I'm much more discriminating then I used to be with my pocketbook, because there are just too many good authors out there that beg to have my money.

I'm trying to convince myself that the Harris books are worth reading, but I still haven't gotten there yet. I haven't seen the show, but I've heard so many good reviews of the books, that I feel I'm missing out.

Kerry said...

You summed up my situation with the Feehan books exactly. I'm certainly not buying hardcovers as I don't think the series is that good anymore but I just can't quite let go completely. Hooray for the library.

Phyl said...

I started the Feehan book last night and ended up deciding to return it to the library as a DNF. The dialogue and thoughts of her characters have become stock. There is no originality to the stories any more and I'm thoroughly disappointed. It's hard to let go of a series that once was so compelling. Those of us who weren't driven to it by the stupid Christmas book, will probably be driven to it this time. I'm done.

Lil Sis said...

Yea - I want to read the Harris novels now. I started watching TrueBlood - I really like it. I need to read the novels because I notice so many similarities between TrueBlood and Twilight. I wonder if Meyers is a fan of Harris too...

BookBukNut said...

Loved Girl with a Dragon Tattoo and didn't even know the author had died when I read it. Imagine my surprise! Luckily he turned in 2 more manuscripts along with this novel so I have 2 more great books to look forward to.

little alys said...

Yes! Please, onward to my local library! :D Teehee.

Rosie said...

I'm only so-so on the HBO TRUE BLOOD series, but I'm intrigued enough that I want to try a Sookie book after hearing people rave about them for years.

The GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO I've picked up a couple of times myself. It's just such an interesting title. I always put it down though for exactly the reason you mentioned. It's translated.

Marg said...

I don't read many translations, but I do have a couple here to read at the moment, with Girl With a Dragon Tattoo being one of them.

susanwiggs said...

Hey, my publisher sent this link to me with pride! And I am proud to be in this company, and incredibly happy to be in circulation. Thank you SO MUCH for mentioning Just Breathe. I am currently working on a Christmas story featuring a librarian. A smart, sexy one. Is there any other kind?

Wendy said...

OMG Susan Wiggs just commented on my blog! You'll be happy to know that I just ordered more copies of Just Breathe this week. Think of it like a second print run in the library world :-)

And no, there is no other kind of librarian. That's just a silly question.

Re: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Rosie, I hear you on translations and ESL readers will tell you that all translations are NOT created equal. Some are very good and some suck like a vacuum. However, this particular book has gotten such fantastic reviews that I'd wager a guess that this one falls in the "good translation" category. I might have to see about listening to the audio book cuz dang, I know I'll never find time to read it.