Martha Freeman's Blog - Posts Tagged "stieg-larssen"
What People Read at the Beach
If I were a publisher, I would hire someone (me, for example) to jog down popular beaches in the summertime and see what people are reading. That was my noontime activity today in Stone Harbor, and you get a rough idea of my jogging speed by the fact that I could easily read book titles as I passed. In fact, a seagull paced me for a while, and I don't mean a seagull that was flying.
Results of my informal market survey: Stieg Larssen rules the beach! Also-ran status goes to Clive Cussler, Jennifer Weiner, Danielle Steele (and the reader wasn't even that old!), and Janet Evanovich. Most surprising finds: Jonathan Safran Foer (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close), and Rebecca Skloot (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks). It was hard not to give gold stars to the latter two readers -- just like it was hard not to grab the guy's copy of "The Shack" and throw it into the Atlantic.
I refrained in both cases.
Next up after Larssen in popularity were cooking magazines. I noticed that the people reading Eating Well and Self were not the ones who, IMHO, needed to be reading Eating Well and Self.
Happily, reading was the No. 1 most popular single activity on the beach followed by throwing and hitting things (not children but objects -- such as balls, frisbees, horseshoes, and badminton birdies), excavating (only one impressive castle in the two miles I covered though), staring vacantly, and napping.
Another surprise: Lots of Kindles & Nooks. I hope they are sand- and water-resistant. One guy must've been reading something REALLY good because his chair was inundated by about six inches and the next wave threatened not only his lap but his technology.
Results of my informal market survey: Stieg Larssen rules the beach! Also-ran status goes to Clive Cussler, Jennifer Weiner, Danielle Steele (and the reader wasn't even that old!), and Janet Evanovich. Most surprising finds: Jonathan Safran Foer (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close), and Rebecca Skloot (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks). It was hard not to give gold stars to the latter two readers -- just like it was hard not to grab the guy's copy of "The Shack" and throw it into the Atlantic.
I refrained in both cases.
Next up after Larssen in popularity were cooking magazines. I noticed that the people reading Eating Well and Self were not the ones who, IMHO, needed to be reading Eating Well and Self.
Happily, reading was the No. 1 most popular single activity on the beach followed by throwing and hitting things (not children but objects -- such as balls, frisbees, horseshoes, and badminton birdies), excavating (only one impressive castle in the two miles I covered though), staring vacantly, and napping.
Another surprise: Lots of Kindles & Nooks. I hope they are sand- and water-resistant. One guy must've been reading something REALLY good because his chair was inundated by about six inches and the next wave threatened not only his lap but his technology.
