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Former bestsellers who are now unfashionable

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    Former bestsellers who are now unfashionable

    Once, no Irish bookshelf would have been complete without a novel by AJ Cronin, in particular Keys to the Kingdom, but nowadays the Scot's body of work is only likely to be seen in the local charity shop. Likewise, Trollope has rather fallen from grace, as has Enid Blyton among children. Conversely, Philip K Dick arguably falls into the category of having cult appeal while alive, but greatly in vogue now.

    #2
    As an avid garage-saler / charity-shopper, I can attest to there being no end of "The Cat Who..." mystery books by Lilian Jackson Braun. That said, I've never seen someone reading one, nor do I know anyone who owns one. And the wiki description makes me want to punch myself in the face.

    "The Cat Who books center on the life of former newspaper reporter, James Qwilleran, and his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, in the fictitious small town of Pickax located in Moose County "400 miles north of everywhere."

    Can you fucking imagine?

    Anyhoo...I'll bet there are over 100 million in print, and I'll never read a single one.

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      #3
      A lot of 70s mega authors have gone that way, Harold Robbins,Leon Uris,Frederick Forsyth,I'm sure I could think of more but the likes of the above three were so technical in their detail that they've become as dated as a fondue set

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        #4
        Arthur Hailey bossed that genre for some years with doorstops like Airport, Hotel, Wheels, and so on.

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          #5
          James Michener, too

          The demise of the Book of the Month Club, Readers' Digest Condensed Books and similar outlets may have something to do with their disappearance.

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            #6
            Book of the Month Club is going through a bit of a revival it seems. You pay for a term (I think shortest is three months) every month they send five books, not one, and occasionally a freebie. You can send back what you don't want, no charge. It works on the time-tested "opening the box is always a surprise" basis.

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              #7
              I was unaware of that. Seems very retro

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                #8
                Originally posted by Amor de Cosmos View Post
                Arthur Hailey bossed that genre for some years with doorstops like Airport, Hotel, Wheels, and so on.
                Knew I'd forget one,my aunt used to read Arthur Hailey all the time,Stephen king said they're so detailed that they're more like instruction manuals than novels

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post
                  I was unaware of that. Seems very retro
                  Indeed. Maybe emboldened by the whole multi-zillion dollar 'loot crate' phenomenon.

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by elguapo4 View Post
                    Knew I'd forget one,my aunt used to read Arthur Hailey all the time,Stephen king said they're so detailed that they're more like instruction manuals than novels
                    Stephen King ought not comment about brevity.

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                      #11
                      All kinds of new-agey and self-helpey things fall into this category, whether it's Erich von Danicken or "Men Are From Mars" or whatever.

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                        #12
                        Or Dow 36,000, for that matter

                        See also every "celebrity diet" book ever written.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by WOM View Post
                          Indeed. Maybe emboldened by the whole multi-zillion dollar 'loot crate' phenomenon.
                          Yeah. I think there are several companies doing something similar. It's tapping into an anti-algorithm vibe as well I think. I've heard of several small bookstores that are starting a CSA* type approach with their clientele too. You pay an amount of money upfront and the store uses it to order books ahead of time. You get them as they they arrive, if there's one you're not interested in you can swap it for something else they have in stock. I'm not sure if it'll work as well for books as it does for veggies but it's certainly worth trying.

                          * Community Supported Agriculture. Very successful around here. We get a box full of fresh organic produce every two weeks at the farm. We don't know what's going to be in it, but there's a "swap box" where you can trade items. Plus there's the neat challenge of having to try something new with garlic scapes (for example.)

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                            #14
                            No doubt the word "curated" makes an appearance or two.

                            Lack of storage space is an issue for CSAs here.

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                              #15
                              You mean in your residence or city?

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                                #16
                                Both.

                                Manhattan apartment kitchens are notoriously small. CSAs do better in Brooklyn, where middle class people tend to have more space.

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                                  #17
                                  I went into a bookshop where they had wrapped all their 'mystery' books in brown paper and string, with a price tag on the outside. Thought that was clever.

                                  Anyway, Dan Brown is the stuff of charity shop worker legend, like the Oxfam Bookshop in Cardiff centre having 300 copies of The Da Vinci Code at one point.

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                                    #18
                                    Originally posted by Patrick Thistle View Post
                                    I went into a bookshop where they had wrapped all their 'mystery' books in brown paper and string, with a price tag on the outside. Thought that was clever.
                                    Yeah our local library does that. Sealed brown bags marked 'romance,' 'noir mysteries' 'cosy mysteries' 'Sci-fi' etc. They're very popular with people who read by genre.
                                    Last edited by Amor de Cosmos; 03-07-2018, 22:20.

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                                      #19
                                      Jean M. Auel

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                                        #20
                                        Originally posted by elguapo4 View Post
                                        A lot of 70s mega authors have gone that way, Harold Robbins,Leon Uris,Frederick Forsyth,I'm sure I could think of more but the likes of the above three were so technical in their detail that they've become as dated as a fondue set
                                        The pub I watched yesterday afternoon's match in had a fella sat right under the telly reading a Forsyth novel, with headphones in. The 3 pints of staropramen he sank may have helped digest it

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                                          #21
                                          Everyone read von Daniken at school. And Sven Hassel.

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                                            #22
                                            Originally posted by Felicity, I guess so View Post
                                            The pub I watched yesterday afternoon's match in had a fella sat right under the telly reading a Forsyth novel, with headphones in. The 3 pints of staropramen he sank may have helped digest it
                                            That sounds like someone who planned to do it for no other reason than an attempt to look cool, and hopefully have his picture taken then go viral on Instawitter or whatever.

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                                              #23
                                              Don't think Forsyth is cool, though- if it'd been a novel in French or something...

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                                                #24
                                                Well, yes, there's that

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                                                  #25
                                                  John Grisham must co-own this thread. And Frank Herbert gets an honourable mention. James Herbert for that matter.

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