This week’s reading on the popularity of
books named to Oprah’s Book Club did not present any particularly surprising
conclusions; rather, it presented the intuitive reasoning with statistical
evidence to support it. It is no
surprise that being named to Oprah’s Book Club would cause a spike in
popularity, and would ensure continuing success for the named authors. The almost cult-like following that
Oprah cultivated during the height of her popularity would ensure that nearly
everything she endorsed would immediately become popular. Even today, when she no longer hosts
her daytime talk show and has faded into the background of popular culture,
there are still people and products that she endorsed that continue to enjoy
popularity.
I was glad to see a scientific process
applied to the logical argument that I see manifested everyday. I work in a bookstore, where about 85%
of our book inventory is in used condition, which we buy in from our
customers. When we get numerous
copies of a particular title, it is usually because of one of three
reasons. First, popular fiction
authors (Patterson, Grisham, Clancy, Sparks, Roberts, etc.) who churn out
several books a year are always bought into the store in quantity. Second, books which have been made into
successful films, such as The Time
Traveler’s Wife, The Help, and Water
for Elephants, also are frequently bought in. And finally, books that have been named to Oprah’s Book Club
come into the store in record numbers.
Because we get so many books in that have that
little “Oprah’s Book Club” sticker on the cover, I wasn’t at all surprised to
see the conclusions drawn in the article.
We get hardcovers and paperbacks, and almost all of them have that
little sticker, which means they were purchased after being named to Oprah’s
club. The article’s conclusion
that these books enjoy continued popularity is demonstrated in our sales; we
sell nearly as many of these books as we buy in. In fact, we have a revolving fixture of Oprah’s Book Club selections
that displays new selections from the rather extensive list every few
weeks. Even the controversy
surrounding A Million Little Pieces
and its authenticity doesn’t diminish its sales in our store; two copies were
purchased off our display in the past week.
If another celebrity personality ever manages
to cultivate the same force of personality as Oprah has, then I foresee having
to stock those recommendations just as we do Oprah’s Book Club. Until that day, however, we’ll likely
see books become popular based far more on merit than Oprah’s personal
tastes.
Works Consulted:
Fake Memoirs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_memoirs
Smoking Gun. (2006). A Million Little Lies: Exposing James Frey’s fiction addiction.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/celebrity/million-little-lies
I have found that people reference Oprah's Book Club almost as much as any other genre. I'm asked by a lot of people to help them find books "similar to the ones on the Oprah Book Club." The style of books that she chooses appeal to a lot of people and tend to more literary. I usually choose books that have deep characters, are plot-driven, and have a literary writing style. These searches come up with books I would assume would be on Oprah's list. It's funny how dependent people are on someone else choosing books for them to read. Oprah's stamp of approval goes a long way!
ReplyDeleteI agree, its not surprising that books gain popularity after being named in Oprah's book club. Even before starting the club, she was already extremely popular. Her fanbase is huge and it's only going to grow in the future.
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