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Loading ...Will, you’re not turning into a literary snob are you? You don’t suppose for a minute Richard and Judy actually choose the books themselves do you?
Great rant though.
Richard and Judy, the librarians of Britain
By Will last year, at the start of August Leave a comment on this post
That’s it. I’ve had enough of bookshops. I used to enjoy browsing through them a few years ago, looking up new authors as well as “staple diet” writers who I’ve enjoyed. But the shopping experience in today’s bookshops is overwhelmingly tacky and, well, just overwhelming. Most stores seem to have these tables, with titles piled high, underneath a sign: “our favourites this month” and inevitably there are at least two copies of Paolo Coelho’s wistful musings, and other authors (all of whom seem to share the title of “genius”…) writing about abused Russian alcoholics and Ukranian tractors.
I couldn’t see anything new or particularly exciting, so meandered over to fiction - not my favourite place. And there, emblazoned in yellow and pink and other sickly garish colours, was a stand suggesting five or six books as recommended by Richard and Judy. Good God alive.
Has society plummeted to such literary-ignorant depths that we have to rely on an overpaid, smug TV couple as our national librarians? I only looked at one title - it had a blue cover and, yes, I liked the picture - and, rather inevitably, it was all about a widower and how he’s coping. No surprise there then. I’m not here to judge the quality or writing of the books’ authors - I’m sure they’re very good books - but why the hell are we relying on two celebrities to help us choose what to read? One man’s favourite is another man’s draught excluder.
I very nearly ventured over to the sports section to read a cricket book (spit). Fortunately I found something, after an hour trying to avoid all the arrows and signs and posters demanding I buy THIS book and THAT one: London Pub Reviews by Paul Ewen, a New Zealander who’s written of his experiences and the people he’s come across in some of the capital’s pubs. Perhaps an odd choice for a trip to India, where I’m off to tomorrow, but at least it’s not on Dickhead and Booby’s list…
Tags: books, india, london, london-pub-reviews, Paolo-Coelho, paul-ewen, rant, richard-and-judy |
12 Responses to “Richard and Judy, the librarians of Britain”
August 3rd, 2007 at 9.38 pm
August 4th, 2007 at 1.10 am
What they don’t tell you is it costs two grand to get someone in Richard and Judy’s company just to LOOK AT YOUR BOOK.
And those best-sellers - pay £45,000 up front, and you’ve got one for a week.
£25,000 will get your book at the front of the store and at the tills.
If you win a big prize, you better get your cheque book out, and get ready to pay the chains, otherwise they’ll only stock a single copy of your book in selected stores.
Very little is on merit. Large bookshops sell and display whatever they’ve been paid to display.
August 4th, 2007 at 8.45 pm
Totally agree Will.
August 4th, 2007 at 9.30 pm
I am in full support of literary snobbery.
Rant on Will, it’s all we can do in the face of corporate bad-taste, as exemplified by that pair.
Philip K. Dick all round.
August 5th, 2007 at 5.55 pm
Buy your books from authors and publishers whenever you can, and support independent bookshops.
Supermarkets are closing down bookshops every week, and once they’re all gone, all you’ll ever see are shite ghosted biogs of people who appeared on Big Brother Series 7, who have never read a book, let alone penned a page, in their lives.
These books make shite presents, because no one reads them.
August 5th, 2007 at 10.05 pm
I’ve given up bookshops (and record shops, come to that) - the good news is called abebooks.co.uk - of course, you have to know what you want to buy, but if you do, it’s a little slice of heaven…
August 6th, 2007 at 10.19 am
Dear Innocent Abroad,
Thank you….I now can do my book shopping and browsing at home…instead of abroad (Amazon.)
Just made my first purchase.
Live long and prosper,
Graham.
August 6th, 2007 at 10.54 am
Good rant!
Greatly amused me - and I’m inclined to agree with you!
August 6th, 2007 at 4.08 pm
Oprah did the book recommending thing first in the States, and R&J are trying it over here.
Tossers
August 6th, 2007 at 5.00 pm
Don’t forget though that generally the kind of plebs that watch R&J have never picked up a book before, so for them to get the underclass reading at all is surely a good thing. Yes, perhaps they will start out by reading Crystal, by Katie Price; or My Life on TV by some loser who was on BB, but they might eventually graduate to proper books, like My Turn to Spin, by Shaun Udal.
If the gruesome twosome can get people reading who wouldn’t ordinarily read, then they might derive some pleasure from it, and in turn think about teaching their kds to read. Then their kids might spend more time reading and less time sniffing glue, vandalising cars and stabbing each other.
For the record I just read Thorpe’s autobiography, and it’s excellent. Admittedly this wasn’t recommended by R&J, but I think you should all read it anyway.
August 8th, 2007 at 2.20 pm
R&J can read? Or is this another media lie? The mind boggles.
August 11th, 2007 at 12.29 am
Lighten up, Will. Why take publishers and their marketing so seriously?
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