How many books does a man need? (allusion)

[Mark Kohut]

Esp inside most publishing companies.

On Tue, Oct 31, 2017 at 1:34 PM, Paul Mackin <mackin.paul at gmail.com> wrote:

> Its mean to say, but the most pejorative thing you can say about a novel
> is that it was different.  Not here of course.
> On Oct 31, 2017 11:33 AM, "Mark Kohut" <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> more so than ever, yes, I'd say, although some good ones do sell and many
>> good ones might get rediscovered
>> at a future time
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Oct 31, 2017 at 9:31 AM, Paul Mackin <mackin.paul at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Isn't it also true that the books not worth reading are the ones that
>>> sell?  Excluding vanity and tenure granting, I mean.
>>>
>>> On Tue, Oct 31, 2017 at 6:27 AM, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Arthur,
>>>>
>>>> Take it from one who knows: most of those books, say 160,000 are not
>>>> worth reading. Say 100,000 are what I call interchangeable books, newly
>>>> reshuffled pages of generic stuff: on self-help, business, dieting, etc.
>>>> etc. that leaves 20,000.....at least half of those are the equivalent of
>>>> vanity publishing, I say....not good enough for anyone but relatives and
>>>> tenure-granting Department heads to read....so, maybe 10, 000 now, of which
>>>> at least half of those are medicore, earnest finishers....so, 5,000 left,
>>>> of which more than half cannot be of any major reader's interest since we
>>>> cannot be interested in all---that half varies by individual, of
>>>> course---so only @ 2,500 fiction and non-fiction ( or around 55 a week)....
>>>>
>>>> So.......just.......read....slowly.......enough; .....feel.....every
>>>> ...............word ......which the books worth reading demand......
>>>>
>>>> to not care about the other 54 while you are reading.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
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