Tuesday Thingers - Book Popularity

There's a group that formed from the Early Reviewers discussion board on Library Thing called Tuesday Thingers. It is hosted by Marie, a.k.a. The Boston Bibliophile. Each Tuesday Marie posts a question that everyone then blogs about. I'm joining a few weeks after they formed but I'm sure they won't mind (fingers crossed).

Today's Question: What's the most popular book in your library? Have you read it? What did you think? How many users have it? What's the most popular book you don't have? How does a book's popularity figure into your decisions about what to read?

My library lists only the books that I've read in the last two years, a few series that I added all the books, our book club books, and a few 'to be read' books. The most popular book in my library is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. There are 32,526 other Library Thing members who have this book in their library. This book or at least this series being the most popular appears to be common among alot of the other Tuesday Thingers. It only makes sense as this is one of the most popular books in the last years - it appeals to adults and kids alike. I've read it, but not in the last two years. I loved the series and this book was the start. My kids also have read this first book and are also big Harry fans.

The next most popular books in my library are the other Harry Potter books. The most popular book I've actually read in the last two years (that's not Harry Potter) is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. It is in the library of 5,549 members. I read this book in January and gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars. I learned some things about the culture in Afghanistan as well as reading a good story. I don't think it was as good as his other book, The Kite Runner, but that may have been expectations and not the book itself. Interestingly, The Kite Runner was published in 2003 and is in 14,563 member libraries. I wonder if in 4 more years whether the number of libraries for A Thousand Splendid Suns will reach that high.

The most popular book that I haven't read based on the Zeitgeist is The Hobbit with 21,347 members. Not sure why I've never read this book. I was going to say that fantasy is not usually my cup of tea but then realized that doesn't mesh with loving the Harry Potter series. Maybe I'll need to rethink reading this book.

A book's popularity does play a role in what I read. It's mostly based off of good reivews - "Oh you need to read this book" - rather than the fact that everyone is buying it. If I am shopping the library or the bookstore, I tend to notice the books that they have more of, but I'm just as likely to pick up a book because of it's color.

Just for fun, I looked at the books in my library that have the least amount of members. Rated 4 stars, The Bone Weaver by Victoria Zackheim is only in 5 members libraries. I read this book with my book club in 2003. Sadly that is too much time for me to remember the book, even after looking at the reviews on Amazon. It also makes me wonder how I rated it when I added it to my library. Hmmm...maybe my memory was better last year than it is this year? I will follow up with my book club buddies and see what they remember about this book.

Those digital pictures on those digital cameras

I love my digital cameras. There are two that we use regularly - my Canon 30D SLR that I absolutely love but generally have heart palpitations when someone other than me is using it. We also have a Sony Powershot that takes great pictures and allows the rest of my family to take pictures. I take a gazillion pictures, have many, many hand-made scrapbooks, have 3 digital scrapbooks, photos all over my house and my relatives....yada yada yada. Digital allows you to take so many and delete the ones that are bad, not worrying about wasting film or time. All this to say - I like digital pictures.

What kills (meaning hurt not laugh) me is when folks keep their pictures on their cameras for a long time. I know folks (family and friends alike) who will keep hundreds of pictures on their camera, deleting one or two at a time to make room for more. This is SO BAD for so many reasons. There are many things that can happen to the camera or the card that will wipe out all the pictures. For example - dropping it into the toilet; getting a virus from the computer; card just going bad; some ding-dong helpful person deleting ALL the pictures rather than just one or two to make space; and many other things that can happen. Do you really want the pictures from the past 6 months (which include Christmas, last day of school, fun events, new babies, family, etc) to be gone forever? Of course not. So, get them off your camera. You can put them on the computer (but remember this can also be an issue so make sure this isn't the only thing you do); print them either as individual photos or in a scrapbook format; put them on cd's; etc.

Whatever you choose to do with your pictures - make sure you share them! Pictures are not taken to be put in a computer, cd, album or scrapbook never to be seen again. Share them! People always like looking at photos!

Favorite author - Laura Lippman

I have that list on the left there of some of my favorite authors. Over time I will be telling you why they are on that list. Starting off with author Laura Lippman.

I first fell in love with her character Tess Monaghan in Baltimore Blues. Tess is a wise-cracking journalist who loses her job and opens a private investigation business. She solves crimes sometimes with her intelligence but just as many times with good luck. She makes me laugh and cry, cringe and cheer. Her family members and friends are just as much fun as she is. In different stories we learn more about each of them. And she is also a dog lover! There are ten stories in the Tess Monaghan series. And you know I recommend reading them in order if possible. Because you'll get to see how Tess grows both personally and professionally while you enjoy solving the crimes right along with her. The latest book is Another Thing to Fall that came out in March. My comment in March (since you know my memory is worthless about specific books) on library thing says "Latest in the series, but would be good as a stand alone too. TV show drama and filming included in the suspense."

Ms. Lippman also has a few stand-alone books that I've enjoyed. These books have rounded out the joy I have reading her books. I recommend checking her out.

Yeah me!

I checked my email this morning and I've got two new things coming to me. The first was a copy of the book Entropy from author Tony Gordon. I originally got the book information from J. Kaye and read a review of the book by Booking Mama. The trailer says:
Entropy is the tendency for systems to go from a state of higher organization to a state of lowest organization - i.e., to fall apart. We watch as Nick fights to keep entropy at bay, to hold on to what he knows, even as he begins to realize he can't. Nick gradually comes to understand this process while he watches others resist it. Through Nick, we see how people cope, how people search for comfort and cohesion, and how sometimes our best selves become hidden in all the rubble.

The second thing in my email is that I purchased this cute purse from my friend Lisa at Polka Dot Creations. Lisa is so talented! I have been buying different things from her over the years - earrings, ornaments, etc. She makes beautiful jewelry! She has starting sewing different things and this purse is her newest creation. I can't wait to get it!

The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman

A perfect life is what she has. At least that's how Sophie views her life at the beginning of The Accidental Mother by Rowan Coleman. She's on top of her career, one step away from the top of her company. She's got lots of friends - unfortunately she's too busy with work to see them much but she knows they are there. But then a social worker shows up at her office - her best friend growing up, the one she hasn't talked to in 3 years even though she always meant to, has been dead for 6 months. And they just found her will that says Sophie should be given custody of the two girls. She agrees, out of guilt, on a temporary basis, until their father can be found. The story tells of how Sophie handles the change in her life, a 3 year old wildly creative fairy, a 6 year old tightly wound girl and their father.

This book almost immediately reminded me of a movie. Not that I've seen this movie. Maybe it would just be a good movie. It was a cute story - about finding yourself when you didn't really know you were lost. It would make a good book club book as there are lots of different aspects of the characters that are flawed and bear discussion. I found it very believable and interesting throughout. Good chick lit!

Another contest - This one at She is Too Fond of Books

I don't really want to tell you about this one because I want to win! LOL Dawn at She is Too Fond of Books is giving away an advanced copy of Michael Connolly's newest book, The Brass Verdict. I am a huge fan of Michael Connolly. I read almost all his books in about 6 months time last year. Very intriguing, hard to put down, great characters.

All you have to do to be entered is leave a comment here saying why you want to get the copy. But, really, just go read her other posts and ignore the giveway. 'Cause it's all about me!!!

Whew! I think I am all caught up!

Man, I did too much reading on vacation! Too many books to post about.

Not really but it did seem to take a bunch of time to get caught up. Of course, I had to also get caught up on all my blog reading. And adding new books to my 'to be read' list. Speaking of which, this picture is my current pile. Yikes! And even more Yikes is that there are more books waiting for me right now at the library!

But it's also summer time and I need to play with the kidlets, preferably at the pool! Oh, yeah, and then there's work, dishes, laundry, taking a shower (LOL), yada yada. I think I am going to take an hour to work on the house stuff and then either work work or plunge into a new book. Any bets on which one I do?