Better Than Starbucks discussion

I don't know about you, but if I'm out book shopping and pick up a book which turns out to have a sticker saying "Richard and Judy Book Club" (or Oprah Book Club, or Galaxy Book Club etc, etc) on the cover, I simply have to put it back on the shelf immediately. The fact that I have (unknowingly) read and enjoyed a number of such celebrity/company book recommendations before makes no difference - I will never knowingly read one. Does anyone else share this irrational prejudice?

i dont. if i find a source to be reliably recommending books i do not like, say the NYT bestseller list, i will avoid those books unless a better source also recommends them. to be honest, we have so many great readers at BTS, especially at the Shelfari version, but even here with our 27 members, I hardly am ever at a loss for a good book to read based on comments and reviews of members! but a big "O" or the equivelant does not. Funny, a nobel, a booker, or for my son a caldecott increases my interest, while a pulitzer almost guarantees i will not like it, so i avoid them unless overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Anthony wrote: "i dont. if i find a source to be reliably recommending books i do not like, say the NYT bestseller list, i will avoid those books unless a better source also recommends them. to be honest, we have ..."

I nearly always like orange award winners (and short lists) and over the last few years I've liked alot of the Booker short lists. Haven't read many Pulitzer prize winners, but loved "A visit from the Goon Squad".

Wow! That book made want to hunt down both the committee and the author and murder them with my bare hands! I guess different strokes and all....

to be honest its not at all the type of book I would normally try - (and if it had been recommended by the Richard & Judy book Club I certainly wouldn't have) - but I'm glad I did.
By the way is being ghunned down worse than being gunned down? - I am guessing that perhaps it involves using one of those new 3d printed guns (or ghuns)?

hunted, sorry about the typo, no guns needed when i get that riled up:)

I guess that gunning down someone and killing them with your bare hands might be considered a little excessive :)

Depends on who the celebrity is. If it's an author I know and respect, that's one thing. If it's a movie star, that'd probably be the kiss of death.

I tend to like the Booker Prize finalists, tho.

Lee, it is at least not in keeping with the poetic mandate of brevity and not repeating except for effect:)

Ruth, yes, i am sure there are some great literary minds from the movies, but i would be skeptical.

If Oprah likes a book, I won't buy it. Other than that, I have few prejudices when it comes to the sources of book recommendations.

she liked toni morrison and gabriel garcia marquez. if you passed on both of those because of the O, you missed out. i am not an oprah fan, but i would say she has a better track record than the P

I read "Beloved" before I knew Oprah liked it. I didn't enjoy it that much. I haven't read any Marquez yet because my wife keeps telling me how much she can't stand his writing.

Interesting question... Depends on the celebrity--there are artists or singers who've cited works ( either in interviews or in their own art) that have made me want to read those books or authors (e.g., Bjork once mentioned The Master and Margerita, and Sting referenced Nabokov and Paul Bowles in some songs--I ended up reading & enjoying those). An Oprah endorsement doesn't do anything for me one way or the other--I'm not likely to read a book solely because she endorsed it, nor not read a book because she endorsed it (I do dislike having that Oprah sticker or label on the cover, but I wouldn't pass up a good book just to avoid being associated with Oprah--anybody that gets people reading is ok by me). I guess it boils down to whether the celebrity cares about good writing or does something related to writing. I feel like there are so many books I want to read that I'm likely to die before I get to them all. Do others have trouble finding books to read? What books has a celebrity turned you away from? Or which celebrities turn you off when it comes to book recommendations?

I would not recommend beloved

Well said Marc

stan, if you like fairly literary books, then you would probably like 100 yrs, the others are not quite as accessible to me, but i think you will find GGM to be an excellent read.

I think it depends on who the celebrity is and if I respect them... but personally, I'd rather read a review by a newspaper, magazine or critic.

I tend to avoid Oprah's Bookclub books, unless they're by an author I've read before. Overall, I've found that her choices tend to be too soap-opera-y for me. I've read a couple Today Show Book Club books that were decent.

I don't feel too fussed on picking up a Richard and Judy book club book but it would definbitely depend on the celebrity endorsing it (Katie Price as an example). It is usually down to me reading the blurb on the back though as to whether or not I'll pick it up.

As for things like the Man Booker Prize... well that's touch and go as I find myself enjoying some of the shortlists and then being left in a state of outrage at who is chosen as the winner!

hayley, agreed!

I hardly know who the celebrities are anymore. I would listen to a favorite author, film director, or musician. I am more likely to listen to a friend with similar taste: I luckily have one who is often spot on.

Tracy, 'celebrities' nowadays are a dime to a dozen so keeping up with who's who is just too difficult. I'll consider someone a celebrity if they're talented... and even then I can't be sure we'll share the same tastes in books ;)