Welcome

Welcome to Calliope's Coffee House the proprietor of this establishment is Jacquie Reaville better known as The Book Imp.

When I started this place it was primarily for book reviews and thoughts on all things literary. Well the book reviews are still here, but somehow it's grown into a place for me and others to practice short fictional writing and of course a place where I can give my thoughts and opinions on virtually any subject that might take my fancy.

Hope you enjoy your visit.

Just to add that I welcome comments, the more the merrier. They don't even have to be related to books or writing just go wild (not too wild though).

Permissions are set so that even anonymous users can answer - but comment moderation is in effect which means I get to say yes or no to letting them appear here.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Tuesday Thingers: Most Popular Book According To LT

Today's Question from Marie at The Boston Bibliophile: "What's the most popular book in your library? Have you read it? What did you think? How many users have it? What's the most popular book you don't have? How does a book's popularity figure into your decisions about what to read?"

The most popular book that I have (according to LT's Zeitgeist) is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (UK)/Sorcerer's (US) Stone by J. K. Rowling standing at 32,518 copies listed in LT catalogues, 306 reviews with an average rating of 4.23 stars and also 243 conversations.

Yes I've read it but only once so far. I bought the whole series last year and read them one after the other. The only reason that I did buy them was that I'd seen a few of the films and thought that there was more to the story. I was right. I enjoyed the books more than I enjoyed the films and if anyone's interested my favourite character is Professor Snape (though I'm not sure if that's a hold over from the actor Alan Rickman or not) and my favourite book in the series was the last one Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The popularity of the series didn't really play a part in my buying them, I just wanted to see the back story after watching the films.

The most popular book that I don't have (though it is on my wish list) is The Catcher In the Rye by J. D. Salinger which has 19,082 copies, 225 reviews, an average rating of 4.02 stars and 111 conversations.

Again this book went onto my wish list after watching the film Conspiracy Theory with Mel Gibson, where the book was mentioned a lot and was used as a means of tracking Gibson's character. I wanted to see why this particular book was used. Still do, but it's not at the top of my list so I'll get to it eventually, probably, maybe!

I don't really go by how popular or unpopular a book is, though if a book is popular there's likely to be more information on it and so it's thrust under the book reading publics collective nose a lot more.

So things like 1001 Books to Read before you die and other "must" reading lists don't interest me. Left to myself I'll read what I want to read, when I feel like reading it. So if it's a bestseller, mover and shaker or just that dusty old book stuffed in a corner and forgotten by everyone, if it sparks an interest in me I'll give it a go.

14 comments:

  1. I think I will be the only one who isn't listing an HP book...lol!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I liked all the other odds and ends of info you included (conversations, reviews and such). I too am a secret Snape fan (there, it's out now...) But I think he just needs somebody to love him.

    It's very interesting to see how people answer the same questions differently, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've not seen Conspiracy Theory. Hmm, may have to check it out for the literary references. Or maybe for some Mel. Either way, should be good, right?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I also am not sure if I like snape because of the character or the actor. I do like the idea of being able to redeem someone who is so unlikeable.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Make room for me on the Snape-fan bench! I do love the bad boys!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi,
    I don't know why I never read any of the Harry Potter books - they have been the most popular at LT for quite some time. My children - all grown now - have read them all.
    LibrarysCat

    ReplyDelete
  7. J Kaye - The law of averages says that at least some of the TT crowd won't own or won't have read HP, so you can stand out in the crowd and we'll all point at you LOL

    ReplyDelete
  8. KAM, Silver, Lisa - I'm so glad we're all strange together. I wondered if there was something wrong with me liking Snape more than the others.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Jacquie Reaville (lol) Yes, that's my life in a nutshell. :-D

    ReplyDelete
  10. Michele - Conspiracy Theory is a good little thriller, funny too and you don't have to think too hard just go with the flow, it always leaves me feeling happy with a smile plastered on my face. Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts and Patrick Stewart star, so not a bad cast.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Library Cat - It took me ages to get around to buying them, that was last year just after Deathly Hallows was published. It's an entertaining story but I must admit to liking the later books best, the darker they get the more the story makes sense. To me anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Right there with you. Snape was my fav character... and I can't figure out if that's because of Rickman! I also liked the Malfoys though.. again maybe b/c of Jason Isaacs and Tom Felton!

    ReplyDelete
  13. KBook - Yup the Malfoys were second to Snape for me, and then Sirrus Black and again not sure if that's because Gary Oldman played him. The films and the books kind of get mixed up together somehow, especially as I saw the films first. Have to say though that it was pretty awesome casting.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Professor Snape is one of the most complex characters of the Harry Potter series.

    Like you, I am not likely to pick up a book to read based on popularity--but rather prefer to go with what interests me.

    ReplyDelete

I welcome comments so please feel free to leave a message, the site allows Anonymous users but comment moderation is in effect. Which means I get to vet what you've written before it appears on the page (Oh the power!).

About Me

My photo
Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom
My name is Jac, Jacquie, Jacquelynn, TheBookImp or just Imp. I live in the UK. I love to read as is probably obvious. I also like to write. Anything else you would like to know just ask.

Currently Reading



The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Book Reviews


Click for all the book reviews on this site.

Blog Archive

Followers

Recent Comments