[Outdoorsman]

The author is right...it doesn't take a high level of talent, or any at all in his example, to become a "best seller"...

I pay no attention to "best seller" labels...

I realized quite some time back that my reading time is far more limited than I would like for it to be...I intend to spend the time I do have reading the best I can get my hands on...

When looking for a good read I most certainly do not start at Amazon...

Rather, I look through lists of the major literary prize winners and select something from them...

Pulitzer Prize Winners, National Book Award winners, Pen Faulkner Award for Fiction winners, Man Booker Prize winners...just to name a few...

I've yet to be disappointed, even when the topics are somewhat outside my everyday interests and hobbies...

A list of the major awards:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_literary_awards#Americ...

There's something there for every taste...and you'll benefit from knowing that someone took a great deal of time and care with their efforts...someone writing seriously...

[roymurdock]

Great recommendation - go to the experts when looking for new material.

PS

I enjoy your very zen use of ellipses.

Softens everything you say...and makes things flow together nicely...also gives space for people to think their own thoughts...

[luchadorvader]

...

[ricardonunez]

Talking about Pulitzer. I read an article about how many people were putting Pulitzer Nominee in their titles when anybody can be a nominee. Winning it's a different story.

[rpgmaker]

> I realized quite some time back that my reading time is far more limited than I would like for it to be...I intend to spend the time I do have reading the best I can get my hands on...

As readers we have to come to terms with the fact that we will miss out on many good books, there just isn't enough time to read them all in a lifetime. I decided stop reading the ones that aren't that interesting to me after reading (roughly) 30%-40%[1] of the book. If after this it hasn't grabbed my interest then it just isn't my kind of book, at least in my experience. Will I miss out on the rare book that gets its act together after the 60% mark? Sure, but in my experience those are very rare and I'd rather miss out on them than spend the remaining time chasing the elusive "it gets really good after the 60% mark" books.

> I've yet to be disappointed, even when the topics are somewhat outside my everyday interests and hobbies...

My experience has been the opposite of this. I have found a lot of duds in those lists (I'm talking about fiction books specifically)...

[1] All percentages are approximations.

[Outdoorsman]

You make good points...most of them seem to hinge on your awareness that your time is limited, or that the topic is not one you're intensely interested in...

I'm forced to make choices like that, myself...sadly...a chance to grow as a person--who knows what knocks at our door at any given time?

That's fair...we all get to choose what we read...

Some great works are "insiders"...the writers received the award because other writers understood the difficulty of what was being attempted...and appreciated the effort...

Some works are deeply steeped in, and influenced by, literary theory...they're highly technical, even obtuse to the layman, but other writers "get it"...they're often not "popular" for that reason...

And often they have the most to offer...

[kobayashi]

Somewhat tangential, but I absolutely pay attention to the "Best Seller" tag - just not for books. It's relevant for many other products, like electronics or kitchen appliances, for example.