WHERE HAVE ALL THE READERS GONE?

Mustn't start with a title, mustn't start with a title, mustn't....

Oh hi! It's such a pain; don't know if any of you suffer from this? Since being coerced into the new all singing all dancing form of google blogger or whatever it's become, every time I try to blog - and I start by putting a title in the appropriate box - the program freezes and I can't go any further so I have to log out and start again! So annoying.... anyway back to the plot....

I was reading the Guardian review pages today and I was fascinated - all these books which sound interesting in the short pieces describing them but in reality are probably very very boring indeed. So boring, in fact, that the paper also has to publish a separate list entitled 'top ten mass market books'. In other words, I'm not totally stupid - I'm just reading what the mass market reads and enjoying the tasters of more highbrow reads by studying the Guardian critics instead.


For instance - one wrote about ships logbooks and the details he gave were fascinating - but there is no way I'd want to trawl the spidery writing on the originals. Another book dealt with the Windrush immigrants and their treatment here in the 50s - another subject that does interest me but not in the heavy language most likely used in the discussed volume.

So I read Marian Keyes and Cathy Kelly - so what? I like them, I like to curl up with a book last thing at night, whether bedtime is midnight or 3 a.m, and unwind with simple plots and easy to understand words. I like Dickens too, and Shakespear and Austen and... - but that's not the point. Reading from the top ten of the 'mass market' doesn't make me an unintelligent person - or does it?

And another thing - Round Robin Readers!

You've never heard of them? Oh yes you have....

I thought it was a super idea - I got a letter in the post with just two names attached to it. The premise was this:

You send ONE book to the first name on the list, take them off the list and the second person becomes the top one. Then you add your name and photocopy the letter (on a separate sheet so it was easy to do) and send it to six of your friends who read. They then send one book to the person on the top and leave them off and add their own name and you were now top of the list - and you'd receive 36 books! Brilliant! Either you'd get stuff you'd never tried but might do so if it landed on your doorstep - or the local charity shop would do well... or Ebay!



So what happened? I sent out six copies to six friends I know read books:

1. Got a call saying this person wasn't prepared to send out 36 books! When I patiently explained it would only be one, they were miffed and still didn't want to play as they only like the books they choose.

2.Person no. 2 told me that they didn't believe they had any friends that read!

3. Person no. 3 called me and said: "I'm gonna kill you! Why did you send me this? I'm not doing it!' No reason, nothing...

4. Person no. 4 emailed to say mother was in hospital, sister just come out, other sister on way from abroad; hadn't had time to read my letter.... didn't expect to!

5 and 6 are ominously quiet....

and nothing has arrived here. :(

But don't you think it was a brilliant idea? `Or is it just me?