Bestsellers : a very short introduction

By:

Sutherland, John

Material type: Text

9780199214891

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

813.009 SUT-B

Contents:

1. Definitions

2. The modern scene

3. Fields and lists

4. The American bestseller

5. The British bestseller

6. The future of the bestseller : is there one?

Summary: "This Very Short Introduction takes a look through 'bestseller lists' since their arrival on the scene in the 1980s, to show that these lists monitor one of the strongest pulses in modern literary fiction and are therefore worthy of serious study. Examining how these books reflect the fashions and ideologies of the day, it asks what separates bestsellers from canonical fiction, lifts the lid on the bestseller industry, and includes lively summaries of bestsellers through the years, from Huckleberry Finn to The Da Vinci Code, via many long-forgotten, but once bestselling, titles."--BOOK JACKET. For the last century, the tastes and preferences of readers of fiction have been reflected in the American and British bestseller lists. John Sutherland takes an engaging look through the lists to reveal what we have been reading - and why.

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Books	IIITD Library Corridor	Literature	813.009 SUT-B (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		013261

Total holds: 0

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Definitions

2. The modern scene

3. Fields and lists

4. The American bestseller

5. The British bestseller

6. The future of the bestseller : is there one?

"This Very Short Introduction takes a look through 'bestseller lists' since their arrival on the scene in the 1980s, to show that these lists monitor one of the strongest pulses in modern literary fiction and are therefore worthy of serious study. Examining how these books reflect the fashions and ideologies of the day, it asks what separates bestsellers from canonical fiction, lifts the lid on the bestseller industry, and includes lively summaries of bestsellers through the years, from Huckleberry Finn to The Da Vinci Code, via many long-forgotten, but once bestselling, titles."--BOOK JACKET. For the last century, the tastes and preferences of readers of fiction have been reflected in the American and British bestseller lists. John Sutherland takes an engaging look through the lists to reveal what we have been reading - and why.

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