Not exactly from the time they have been published until they hit the stores and are ready to witness the books flying off the shelf.
But, from the time they are published until the time, the reader figures this is a book he/she would like to read at a certain time of their life if not now.
Does the book hold the same relevance to the reader it had when it was released in the market?
Some bestsellers no matter when you read them. They still are relevant, They fall in the bracket of classics, classics that become the reference points for other authors and readers to compare that work with the current ones written in a similar style.
But, years later when you recommend them to someone would the book have the same impression and effect on the reader too?
Or would the reader wonder what was special about the book or would have outgrown the subject if they had already experienced something similar in real life or in another, a book that wasn’t necessarily a bestseller but a book worth reading or investing your time in it?
And with social media, content flows all across a range of channels, what happens to books that become the source of content, Does the reader still enjoy reading the book as a whole?
Or do social media opinions play on the minds of the reader to read classics/Bestsellers?
Does India Read? Do Indians Read? And if they do what do they read? Well, India is slowly getting into the habit of reading books! And a lot of them have been enjoying reading books. But, this India that I am talking about is not the one that is into literature books. But, a new emerging audience of readers is discovering reading books is not for the joy of it. But, to improve my English speaking skills, Vocabulary and diction. These readers are the ones who make up the large population that we have. But again are we growing in numbers? Who enjoy reading Mythology, Romance, and Young Adult books. The authors who have successfully managed to capture their audience are the likes of Chetan Bhagat, Preeti Shenoy, Durjoy Datta, Ravinder Singh, Anuja Chauhan, and Robin Sharma to name a few…Others like Amrish Tripathi and Devdutt Patnaik are Gaining popularity amongst new readers who are interested in reading books. But, what are the avid literary Indian readers reading today? They are the ones who like reading Amitav Ghosh, Sudha Murthy, Chitra Banerjee, Arvind Adiga, and Arundhati Roy, which are some of the books which the other Indian audiences are reading. But, the positive side of the reader reading in India is they have started reading books of Indian authors from India.
It’s always exciting to start with a new hobby! The moment you begin something, You are hungry to know everything about it. The Rules, The loopholes, the prize, the strength, the weakness, the opportunity that lies and the threats you face in continuing your hobby.
And then there comes a point, in persuading your hobby, where you don’t enjoy it anymore and you start thinking about how time flew by all these years.
Reading was an accidental hobby, I came across right when I turned 18.
It was only after reading a couple of books, that I realised what I enjoy reading and explored more on those genres and topics.
When I was looking to read more newer topics and stories, I came across the prestigious award that have been recognising talent.
While reading about all the books, that had been awarded or had been nominated.
I picked up a book. I genuinely loved the way it was written and narrated.
After that moment, I waited every year for the announcement to read more of these nominated and award-winning books. This I did for about a couple of years, and then moved to some of the other prominent awards and so on…
Then I realised, these book awards were representing a certain style of writing, and storytelling and were very depressive and emotional.
Also either, they wanted to reach a new audience or wanted to market a newer country, when they awarded books to a writer belonging to that region or country.
These book awards were also biased towards authors from certain countries and not equal to the rest who had equally good writing talent.
The book awards, too were very inclined and favouring genres that represent political views, Race, Gender and a cultural movement, which they believe were more important than voicing one’s story.
Similarly same goes for Academy awards… That is considered a landmark of success!
They too seem to have similar criteria, since these awards are reviewed and judged by selective jury members, who believe are the only voice that matters in making decisions.
There have been films and books that have been better than the ones that have been nominated or awarded but are given little importance too.
It was a couple of years ago when I decided to move past these book awards and read books for the stories, they want to tell and to my surprise, there are so many stories in each country in the world, that are worth reading and investing your time into, than to read books that have either been awarded or read by certain nationalities.
Now, looking to read my next book, I either visit the local bookstore in the cities or go through the most-read books in the country and read the synopsis and see what I would like to read next.
I don’t read or buy a book because it’s a best-seller, I only pick up a book that interests me. Some of the questions I ask myself! You also too might consider while reading your next. Am I interested in reading this book, because someone famous recommended it? Because of a friend who recommended or is it because I like the Story? Normally with the Bestselling books of authors. The expectations from their other books rise high. But if you read a book that interests you and you liked it. The curiosity of what the bestseller author might Offer increases and his other work would then be considered. I tried doing these with multiple authors and it was one of the most effective of choosing your next read. Right from Murakami’s to Keigo Higashino to Malcolm Gladwell books.
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