So . . . there are a lot of famous books out there. Some are more the type you read in high school English classes, some you see on the New York Times bestseller list, some win awards, and some were first published decades ago and are still in print; everyone you know is reading it or plans to; there is a movie or TV show based on it.

Do you read famous books? 

I, sadly, haven’t read too many of these books. Most of the ones I had to read in high school English class were boring; most of the books on the New York Times bestseller list are not to my taste; I only really follow science fiction and fantasy awards, but I have read very few the winning novels; I haven’t read too many old books, because lots of times they’re written in a long, winding style and that just annoys me.

Sometimes I think I should read more famous books, because more people are likely to have read them (So I think anyway. How could famous books stay famous otherwise?) and if people around me get into random conversations about them, I will be more able to participate.

Also, to better understand, what about the book makes it famous. This is why I read Twilight and I still haven’t arrived at an answer. But! I can talk about it now and tell people exactly what I thought of it. So that’s a plus.

But more often I look at my reading options and think: this book looks so much better than the more famous one. I want to read it so much more and I don’t actually have to read this much more famous book. So I don’t.

I think this is why lots of people (anyway, most people who don’t read science fiction or fantasy. Sometimes even people who read science fiction or fantasy.) have never heard of half the books I read.

What about you?