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

[paradisacorbasi.livejournal.com]

I'm actually considering writing.

"Dear NYT:

You lauded the books for a breakthrough in getting children to read, and now due to the wishes of some publishers with little to no patience, you have banished children's books -- the entire genre -- from eligibility as best sellers.

Way to ensure that such a revolution of children and adults having a meeting of the minds over reading material they can both enjoy doesn't recur.

Very progressive of you. Or perhaps regressive, since 'congressive' isn't really a word yet."

[phrogg.livejournal.com]

Wow...that makes very little sense at all...

Sometimes i wonder about how common "common sense" really is.

[adele87.livejournal.com]

Bullshit, it's one of the most anticipated books of the decade. People have been wanting to have it since the first book came out.

[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. :)