Reading a book just because it is popular????

I personally dont as I have never read the Da Vinci Code, I have never read the Harry Potter books. I read things that sound interesting, which at times can be misleading too. I have picked out a book thinking it would be a good read and I could barely get pass the first chapter. My best friend has told me to read such and such a book which I thought sounded boring but was an excellent read (thank god for good friends that read too.. lol) I have read books that people have never heard of and they were not excellent but I reread them at least once a year. I also think some just read the popular books as after awhile they think they must be missing something as it is so popular. I have wondered if I have with the Da Vinci Code, I guess just not enough yet to read it. Maybe in time.

I too have noticed the same. But about the actual readers of the book, they are not the people who read it when it become popular.. Reading and loving a book is just like loving a person, if you love a person when he or she becomes popular, you are not loving the essence of that person, but just the popularity of that individual, and thus trying ourselves to be popular.Its just a sort of selfishness. But if you love a person because he is good and acceptable, that is the real love.. That is accepting another person and loving him as you love yourself. That will last for long. Just reading the book and loving it by its content is the real reading.. For such people only, the book is written..Only those are the individuals who get the essence of the content and who can reach the heart of the writer, through his perspectives.. This makes even the author contented. Still I could not understand, how people can read a book just by its popularity, as we won't get anything from a book if we really don't like the content, and we will be wasting the time.. So as one of my friend here told, if people because of less time, looks towards only the bestsellers, better they keep away from reading.. Because this may kill young growing buds in literature... making their career a hell...

Well, it's kind of perpetum mobile, you know? The book is popular because many people read it and then more people will read the book because it s popular. In my country not many people read books. The prefer watching movies or something that doesn't take "so much time". So I think that when they want to read a book they go to the shop, watch the most selling book rankings and then just get something out of top 10. People who read and have their favourite genres knnow more about books, also about less know ones. They take their time to read the backfront of the book to find something that may interest them. I have many friends who read only popular books or the books that were recommented to them but that doesn't mean that they want to be trendy.

i belong to a reading club and to be honest i am the only one who does not read what everyone else is reading. i like to read what i like not what is on the best sellers list. i have been trying to get through the DA VINCI CODE because i wanted to see what all the hype was about and it is a good book but i saw the movie before i was half way through the book and now i do not have the burning desire to see what is going to happen next even though my friends tell me the book and the movie are not exactly alike and end differently. i go through phases of what i like to read about and my reading club tends to read the same authors and the best sellers list only. glad i can be an individual.

ya.i'm agree wid u.....becoz i think sum people have very busy shedule and they don't want to waste their time on other unpopular books!! but books become popular becoz a lot of people read n like it..aaah..so confused...so abt me..i only read my course books!!! i didn't read harry potter or da vinci..just read what is suitable 4 me.

I really dont find myself reading a book just because its popular. I have read some books on the Oprah reading list, only because i wanted to read the book not because everyone else was or because Oprah said it was a good book. I find myself picking up older books. I like to read about history and WWII. I try to read as often as i can. I will go to banes and noble and just pick up a book because the cover is pretty, i will read the last page and the back of the book if i like what i have read i will buy it. I have never read any of the books that you listen i really didnt have a want to. I have never even seen a Harry Potter movie.

I read the Harry Potter books, but only after the first movie. I work in a library so I read books by many authors both popular and unknown. I general base my choices on what I read on the book jacket, but occassionaly will read something because a patron talks about it, like the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer (this is actually a Young Adult series but if you like vampires check it out) I do sometimes get irritated when people ask why we don't have a certain book on the New York Times bestseller list. This list does not mean the book is any good, only that it sells alot of copies.

It all depends, but then you're right. This is the tendency. Quite frankly Harry Potter never interested me (for no basic reason...), not even the movies. I have not read Da Vinci Code, though my son used to quote matter from it while he was reading the book. I did see the movie though. It did not affect me and my belief.

Honestly, I haven't red those books because i cant find comfort in reading books which doesn't fit with my personality. But in some point you're right because most of my friends have red all those best selling books you've mentioned. Why are they reading those books? it's for one good reason, those books were really stunning.

I read stuff often that is on the best seller list because I figure if that many people liked it it must be agood book. Another reason is that if you have read a book that alot of people have read it is kind of a conversation starter. You feel likeyou have soemthing in common with them. Plus if soething is popular you are probably not going to be wasting your time reading it. It probably has something intriguing in it. Some books honestly dont seem like they are worth your time.

I love to read. Mostly I read about technical books or in relation to my hobbies- like hiking, dessert trekking & driving. Some books I read to improve myself- like "7 habits of Highly Effective People" by Steven Covey. But when it comes to classic novels and some newer books, I base my preference on books that I see in movies, or what some famous people reads (what I see when they are interviewed). An example was "Pride & Prejudice" by Jane Austen which was a topic in the movie "You've Got Mail". Again I had also an e-book of "Da Vinci Code" when it became controversial. Some books I read because it was used by "Ivy League-type" schools and so I got interested also- like "Little Prince". Admit it, there are so many books out there, and for me it's hard to choose. Another instance that makes me read a book is that it is free. A friend may have a copy so I borrow his copy. I think there's no harm in it. We all satisfy ourselves in reading. I love to read.. What can you suggest?..

I do not agree with you. Many of the books that are discussed here are not very popular. Also real book lovers do not show off. They read books as they like to read.

I read lots of books and not only because they're famous. But yeah, I noticed that a lot of people, but not everyone.

it depends whether the book fits ur genre preferences, but i generally choose books recommended by people i know well

well, i can't agree with you 100% because i'm not that kind of person... i don't read the book just because it is famous and everybody is talking about it... i read a book because i like it and i know that i can learn something valuable from the book... otherwise, i won't even bother to waste my time and money buying the book... i don't read the da vinci book at all and i don't even know what the book is all about as i think i won't like it... i also didn't watch the movie as well... take care and have a nice day...

I never read a book because it is popular. I only read a book if the discription sounds like something I will like. Sometimes, if there is an author I like, I will get the book without knowing anything about it. But that is only when I have read and liked several of the author's other books.

I agree that some people will only read a book that is on the best sellers list and yes if an author becomes famous many people will read all their works. Is that a bad thing? They read what they want to read. Some people do not have a lot of time to read and so they only look at the bestsellers. It could be that they never have the time to look through bookshops for other books and only see the ones in big displays. I have never known someone just read bestsellers to name drop but then I do not mix with the sort of people who are like that. If I like an author I will read everything they have ever written but I only read books I like not because a book is a best sellers. But then I also don't buy books. I belong to a library and I read a lot of books every week. When I run out of books by one author my partner and I search for other authors we might like and if we do then we read everything they have written. It keeps us busy and we both like to read.

i think it wouldn't be popular if the people who read it didn't enjoy it. so the people who read books because they're best sellers do have a reason to read just what's in. they don't have the time to sort over stacks of books like regular bookworms looking for the one perfect book to read on a lazy afternoon

literally famous writers get more readers than those of the non-famous ones, we think that the popular ones are greater but i think they are just the same cause both are just sharing their emotions, knowledge and facts they have in their brains. they are just the same, giving all their hearts in their works, their soul ,their passion, they usually push their ways forward no matter how hard it is just to inform, to share and to open the eyes of the public,... hope you liked my comment..... thanks

I both agree and disagree. I don't think you can generalize. For example, I started reading Harry Potter before all the hype. I didn't read the Da Vinci Code at all even though people were making a big fuss about because it just wasn't my thing. I think some people will read stuff they otherwise wouldn't just to fit in and those people have insecurity issues. That being said, I think the main reason people start reading books when they get famous is because they hear about them so much that they're finally like, "okay, I have to see what all the fuss is about."