I try never to get too bothered by any author's success, but it does depress me that Yarros' books are as popular as they are. The first book in the series is so bad in so many ways, and not the kind of bad that is kind of fun nevertheless.
There's for sure been some publishing phenomena over the years over which I've despaired in similar ways, seeing the success of a particular type of narrative while knowing those same readers could find as much or more pleasure in other books. I think it'll die out over time, but only time will tell.
I'll say that the first Fourth Wing book was a perfectly reasonable enemies to lovers romantasy. Not my typical genre, but a fun read. The second book was ok and ended on an emotional cliffhanger that necessitated reading the third, which was not as good. 😅 Might be the end of the run for me. Same for Brent Weeks' The Nightbringer series. The first trilogy was fun. His recent dip back in was overlong and repetitive. Time for me to finally sit down with Sanderson's Wind and Truth, which I know I'll enjoy.
I hate puns, too! But I like Jonathan Franzen's and Kevin Wilson's style of writing. I just want a book that is well written. Something that makes me stop every once in awhile to marvel at the metaphors and clever descriptions. But also one that moves the story along without a lot of effort.
I am currently reading one such novel: The Antidote. I am only about 1/8th of the way through, but I think it will be one of those books that I am going to be sorry to see the characters go and the story end.
I enjoy reading your blog, John, and will be eternally grateful to you in your Biblioracle persona for steering me to Colson Whitehead's work (starting with The Intuitionist, sitting forgotten on my shelf at the time--a story that brought a big smile to his face when I met him years later at a book signing, having then devoured everything he'd published). I'm disappointed though to see your cursory dismissal of "Jenna, Reese, or Oprah," framing their influence as antithetical to your idea of "book culture." There are plenty of male authors filling the mass market shelves of airport shops, and not because of their literary superiority to the authors these women champion.
That comment was not meant as a cursory dismissal. In fact, I've written previously about the benefits - though also with some downsides - of these forces in the broader world of books and publishing. I've written positively and reviewed many of the books (particularly Jenna's over the years). I have no enmity here. I should have been more precise in drawing a distinction between what I mean by "book culture" namely the industry of people who write about and review books and what maybe we could call "reader culture" where Jenna/Reese/Oprah are dominant. They pick plenty of great books, but what they could pick is also limited by distinct commercial considerations. The novel I reviewed for the Tribune this week, "Grand Rapids," would never make it into that consideration set because it is just much too dark. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's lots of different book cultures which only sometimes overlap and sometimes don't overlap at all, as is the case with the books that actually sell.
Thanks, John, I appreciate your clarification. What you say here about "book culture"/"reader culture" is interesting. How you frame the latter seems a lot like "popular influencer culture," which I believe we'd agree is quite a mixed bag.
Having children and now grandchildren, the preponderance of children's books on the list, all of which I read to or with a child, surprised, amused, and inspired me with hope for the future of readers. I will admit that listening to my grandson (age 7) read aloud the Dog Man series of books had me laughing out loud, almost to the point of tears, during one passage. I am too old for poop jokes, but there you have it! A shared, treasured moment of joy in reading.
I guessed correctly that you had read those two books. These are also the only two books on the list that I've ever read and owned. I find the list as startling and as disheartening as you do. When I read the headline for your essay, I was anticipating finding a captivating literary novel to read next. I just finished The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable and was absolutely enthralled by it! Thanks for the recommendation for On the Calculation of Volume. I've put it on my list. And speaking of indie musicians, have you heard of the Welsh born phenom Ren? He's a superlative musician, lyricist, and singer. Thanks again for your insightful post.
There has been a lot of talk in my house about Dogman #14, thanks to the 6-8 year old demographic. Just got the first On the Calculation of Volume novels from the library, looking forward to it!
Agree! I encounter new (to me) music, books-- with old and new published dates all the time. But I am open, curious and seeking, not relying on AI or 'social' to discover for me. From the creator view, we must--as Henry Miller suggested, go on believing in what we do, whether recognized or not.
John, I feel this, every word, except that I do like puns, which I was taught to do as a tiny child (thank you, Father 💗). But yes, I'm only familiar with the Dr. Seuss (immortal member of my literary pantheon because he taught me to read), the Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? which are all awesome books. As for the "larger literary culture," I'm almost contrarian in clinging to classics. But you introduced me to Alison Espach and Hannah Pittard, and for that I am eternally grateful. 💖📚
Here to tell any of your literary readers perusing the comments that Eshani Surya's RAVISHING deeply had my attention for the first few days of the year and I'm still thinking about it.
I actually read Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets! My Dad was reading it and that inspired me to take it out of the library and read it too. The story took place in Prague which I visited years ago so I enjoyed reliving the sights.
My local bookstore just started a romance book club so I went to the first meeting. Someone there is a huge fan of dark romance. She mentioned Lights Out as a way to tiptoe into the subgenre. I can’t say I am interested in dark romance but will try it if the book club picks one. Meanwhile I have started Sarah J Maas’s first series Throne of Glass. One problem with being in two book clubs is I have less free reading time. Not sure there any slow readers here, but it limits how many books I can read.
My view on bestseller lists (and top 40, top rated TV, the box office) is it’s okay to not like the top 20. Like for TV it’s a bunch of football games and NCIS type TV. It’s not an overarching narrative of the state of TV. It usually doesn’t even include a lot of popular shows that critics like. Maybe they’re in the top 50. I like to look at the lists but mostly they don’t represent what I enjoy.
I think Rosalia’s Lux is the album of the year. She’s a pop star but this is an esoteric album with a lot of classical music influences. I doubt it sold like gangbusters.
Hey John, a friend just asked me for a Gen Z author book rec for a reading challenge she is doing. "I'm an ageist asshole who assumes no one that young has written anything I care about yet," she wrote. Lol. Just curious if there's anything you would pass along. The internet tells me Gen Z tops out at 28...
I wish a book popped into mind for Gen Z, but as of the moment, it doesn't. I was thinking just this morning how I've become really interested in millennial novels because that's the generation one younger than me (Gen X) and I'm fascinated to see how they're navigating the phases I've (relatively recently) moved through. It's similar to how when I was young I read a lot of novels by Boomers. I'll have to keep an eye out for the next younger generation.
I mostly read political books. I'm currently reading a 2025 release, "Copaganda: How the Police and the Media Manipulate Our News."
We met him at Townhall Seattle in 2025.
Next read because I'm supporting www.kshamasawant.org for Congress is here:
"WE'RE COMING FOR YOU AND YOUR ROTTEN SYSTEM: How Socialists Beat Amazon And Upended Big-City Politics."
😊
I have Lost Lambs in the TBR on the nightstand.
I'd love to hear a first hand report on it if you get to it. I am curious, but...the puns!
I guessed it would be two of Caterpillar, Places, and Brown Bear, but I was surprised by the reason for the Seuss!
I try never to get too bothered by any author's success, but it does depress me that Yarros' books are as popular as they are. The first book in the series is so bad in so many ways, and not the kind of bad that is kind of fun nevertheless.
There's for sure been some publishing phenomena over the years over which I've despaired in similar ways, seeing the success of a particular type of narrative while knowing those same readers could find as much or more pleasure in other books. I think it'll die out over time, but only time will tell.
I'll say that the first Fourth Wing book was a perfectly reasonable enemies to lovers romantasy. Not my typical genre, but a fun read. The second book was ok and ended on an emotional cliffhanger that necessitated reading the third, which was not as good. 😅 Might be the end of the run for me. Same for Brent Weeks' The Nightbringer series. The first trilogy was fun. His recent dip back in was overlong and repetitive. Time for me to finally sit down with Sanderson's Wind and Truth, which I know I'll enjoy.
I hate puns, too! But I like Jonathan Franzen's and Kevin Wilson's style of writing. I just want a book that is well written. Something that makes me stop every once in awhile to marvel at the metaphors and clever descriptions. But also one that moves the story along without a lot of effort.
I am currently reading one such novel: The Antidote. I am only about 1/8th of the way through, but I think it will be one of those books that I am going to be sorry to see the characters go and the story end.
Thanks for the interesting post!
I love puns! That and the fact that she's a fan of "If on a winter's night a traveler" make me want to read "Lost Lambs".
I enjoy reading your blog, John, and will be eternally grateful to you in your Biblioracle persona for steering me to Colson Whitehead's work (starting with The Intuitionist, sitting forgotten on my shelf at the time--a story that brought a big smile to his face when I met him years later at a book signing, having then devoured everything he'd published). I'm disappointed though to see your cursory dismissal of "Jenna, Reese, or Oprah," framing their influence as antithetical to your idea of "book culture." There are plenty of male authors filling the mass market shelves of airport shops, and not because of their literary superiority to the authors these women champion.
That comment was not meant as a cursory dismissal. In fact, I've written previously about the benefits - though also with some downsides - of these forces in the broader world of books and publishing. I've written positively and reviewed many of the books (particularly Jenna's over the years). I have no enmity here. I should have been more precise in drawing a distinction between what I mean by "book culture" namely the industry of people who write about and review books and what maybe we could call "reader culture" where Jenna/Reese/Oprah are dominant. They pick plenty of great books, but what they could pick is also limited by distinct commercial considerations. The novel I reviewed for the Tribune this week, "Grand Rapids," would never make it into that consideration set because it is just much too dark. I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's lots of different book cultures which only sometimes overlap and sometimes don't overlap at all, as is the case with the books that actually sell.
Thanks, John, I appreciate your clarification. What you say here about "book culture"/"reader culture" is interesting. How you frame the latter seems a lot like "popular influencer culture," which I believe we'd agree is quite a mixed bag.
Having children and now grandchildren, the preponderance of children's books on the list, all of which I read to or with a child, surprised, amused, and inspired me with hope for the future of readers. I will admit that listening to my grandson (age 7) read aloud the Dog Man series of books had me laughing out loud, almost to the point of tears, during one passage. I am too old for poop jokes, but there you have it! A shared, treasured moment of joy in reading.
I guessed correctly that you had read those two books. These are also the only two books on the list that I've ever read and owned. I find the list as startling and as disheartening as you do. When I read the headline for your essay, I was anticipating finding a captivating literary novel to read next. I just finished The Instrumentalist by Harriet Constable and was absolutely enthralled by it! Thanks for the recommendation for On the Calculation of Volume. I've put it on my list. And speaking of indie musicians, have you heard of the Welsh born phenom Ren? He's a superlative musician, lyricist, and singer. Thanks again for your insightful post.
I'm actually ignorant of these titles, except for the kids books. My kids and grandkids loved Suess and Wimpy Kid series.
There has been a lot of talk in my house about Dogman #14, thanks to the 6-8 year old demographic. Just got the first On the Calculation of Volume novels from the library, looking forward to it!
Agree! I encounter new (to me) music, books-- with old and new published dates all the time. But I am open, curious and seeking, not relying on AI or 'social' to discover for me. From the creator view, we must--as Henry Miller suggested, go on believing in what we do, whether recognized or not.
John, I feel this, every word, except that I do like puns, which I was taught to do as a tiny child (thank you, Father 💗). But yes, I'm only familiar with the Dr. Seuss (immortal member of my literary pantheon because he taught me to read), the Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? which are all awesome books. As for the "larger literary culture," I'm almost contrarian in clinging to classics. But you introduced me to Alison Espach and Hannah Pittard, and for that I am eternally grateful. 💖📚
Sigh, this list drives me mad.
Here to tell any of your literary readers perusing the comments that Eshani Surya's RAVISHING deeply had my attention for the first few days of the year and I'm still thinking about it.
I actually read Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets! My Dad was reading it and that inspired me to take it out of the library and read it too. The story took place in Prague which I visited years ago so I enjoyed reliving the sights.
My local bookstore just started a romance book club so I went to the first meeting. Someone there is a huge fan of dark romance. She mentioned Lights Out as a way to tiptoe into the subgenre. I can’t say I am interested in dark romance but will try it if the book club picks one. Meanwhile I have started Sarah J Maas’s first series Throne of Glass. One problem with being in two book clubs is I have less free reading time. Not sure there any slow readers here, but it limits how many books I can read.
My view on bestseller lists (and top 40, top rated TV, the box office) is it’s okay to not like the top 20. Like for TV it’s a bunch of football games and NCIS type TV. It’s not an overarching narrative of the state of TV. It usually doesn’t even include a lot of popular shows that critics like. Maybe they’re in the top 50. I like to look at the lists but mostly they don’t represent what I enjoy.
I think Rosalia’s Lux is the album of the year. She’s a pop star but this is an esoteric album with a lot of classical music influences. I doubt it sold like gangbusters.
Hey John, a friend just asked me for a Gen Z author book rec for a reading challenge she is doing. "I'm an ageist asshole who assumes no one that young has written anything I care about yet," she wrote. Lol. Just curious if there's anything you would pass along. The internet tells me Gen Z tops out at 28...
I wish a book popped into mind for Gen Z, but as of the moment, it doesn't. I was thinking just this morning how I've become really interested in millennial novels because that's the generation one younger than me (Gen X) and I'm fascinated to see how they're navigating the phases I've (relatively recently) moved through. It's similar to how when I was young I read a lot of novels by Boomers. I'll have to keep an eye out for the next younger generation.