Why Deathly Hallows won't be a NYT bestseller

[sigma7]

Imagine if the people behind the Nielsen Top 10 TV show listings decided that reality shows were "taking away" valuable attention from dramas and sitcoms. Let reality shows get their own list and the official Top 10 only include "genuine" TV shows, like CSI and House and Grey's Anatomy.

Imagine if Variety decided animated movies were just for kids and didn't belong on the box office Top Ten list, when more adult films like Knocked Up and Ocean's 13 needed the space.

Imagine if Billboard decided to banish country music to Nashville and reserve its list of Top Ten album for "real" music like pop, rock and hip hop.

Of course, that would be absurd. Any list of top TV shows that didn't include American Idol would be a joke. Any ranking of hit movies that ignored Shrek The Third or Ratatouille would be foolish. And any ranking of top CDs that pretended Garth Brooks and Carrie Underwood didn't exist would be bizarre.

And yet that's exactly the status of The New York Times Bestseller list.

Comments

[begstodiffer.livejournal.com]

Eh, this is just an escalation of the same kind of thing that the Science Fiction genre has put up with for decades. I think the stigma of "Sci Fi" is one of the reasons writers have started calling their work "Speculative Fiction" in recent years. The fact that someone has bothered to make this rule just indicates that children's fantasy literature has become so popular that it really threatens "mainstream" sales and egos. It's a measure taken out of fear.

Well founded fear, at that. :)