The Publishers Weekly fiction bestseller list is, as usual, populated by familiar authors that people will read regardless of the quality of work. I believe that people often fall in love with the early work, or the characters, or the setting and just want more. This week, the bestseller list includes the familiar names of Daniel Silva, Kristin Hannah, Emily Giffin, Elin Hilderbrand, Michael Crichton and James Patterson, John Grisham and Stephen King. The others on the list are new-ish authors Emily Henry, Sarah Beth Durst and Rebecca Yarros.
With the advent of social media, books become bestsellers based on self-marketing or reader reviews. We’re all familiar with the meteoric rise of Colleen Hoover who utilized BookTok to expand the reach of her self-published books and ended up on bestseller lists. In 2022, the New York Times wrote an article about her and stated that she had sold more books that year than Dr. Seuss, and has greater sales than James Patterson and John Grisham combined. I’m not saying that means the writing will appeal to everyone but social media allows a crowd-sourcing of recommendations that is reminiscent of the old due date cards in books. Remember when your name was written on the card and other library patrons could see who read it? I once had a patron who would read anything that had a certain person’s name on the card.
This summer, I encourage you to try some mid-list authors and those recommended by social media. With the long waits on Libby, I’ve discovered some wonderful authors on Hoopla that I never would have discovered otherwise. I have a coworker who avidly consumes mysteries and I can always count on her for a recommendation too. Some of my favorite mid-list authors include C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett series, Randy Wayne White, Mick Herron’s Slow Horses series, Anthony Horowitz, David Rosenfelt, Ann Cleeves and anything by Laura Lippman. When I’m feeling the need for oldies but goldies, I read Dick Francis and M.C. Beaton.
We all know that there are so many books and so little time, so read what you love, but don’t forget the talented authors that don’t have a huge marketing budget thrown at them. I’m currently reading/listening to “Starling House,” a fantasy by Alix E. Harrow. Her earlier book, “The Once and Future Witches” was nominated for multiple awards and won the Geffen Award, Hugo Award and the British Fantasy Award. I highly recommend Starling House which is available on audio on Hoopla. This weekend I’m going to try Alex Finlay’s latest novel, “If Something Happens to Me.” Happy reading.
Library Hours: 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Tina Winstead is director of Huntington Memorial Library in Oneonta. Her column appears in the community section of The Daily Star every Tuesday. Her columns may also be found online at www.thedailystar.com/community/library_corner.
