Mediocre books being popular

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I think 3.76 is actually a pretty good rating from good reads. It’s pretty hard to have a universally loved book. And when a book is particularly popular, it gets a lot of ratings which tends to drive the overall score down.

No, it'a not good at all. I never read books with ratings that low, and still have a to-read list of 1,000 books.

Where are all these weird, negative posts coming from? This used to be the one part of the forum my Upper Caucasia neighbors hadn’t found and pooped all over.

Seriously. There are so many books out there. Read what you like. There are lots of white men writing new books every year. Some people are interested in the immigrant experience or reading about experiences different from theirs. Nice to have lots of options. No need to insult entire genres or authors because it’s not to your taste.

Agree! Some of these comments are ate shocking. Why can’t we have books about the immigrant experience? I am 54 and born in America. I was an avid reader through most of my life but I did not have books that showed these stories for a long time.

And to the pp who mentioned black authors in high school: I have enjoyed many of those books but those stories are not the same. Why are all nonwhite authors the same to you??

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I don't think I've read a truly great novel by a creative writing MFA grad. That may just be because the MFA fiction writer is a recent phenomenon though.

George Saunders?
Junot Diaz?
Tony Marra?
Karen Russel?
Lauren Groff?
Curtis Sittenfeld?
Etc.?
Etc.?
Etc.?

Ellin Hilderbrand too.
Most every popular novelist has an MFA. They may not note it in their bio. The exceptions are actually the Freida McFadden types.

There have always been mediocre to bad novels that are popular. I think some in the past were even worse.

seriously- dont y'all remember the grocery stores used to stock harlequin romances, Danial Steele, bodice rippers with Fabio covers. I think the mediocre books today are a slight improvement.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:BookTok (the original site that got younger readers reading Colleen Hoover, as an example) type videos are now all over Instagram and even Facebook. A lot of regular readers are driving reading right now.

I've also noticed that a lot of reader promoted books are diversity and/or progressive pushes, more than simply a great reads.

+1M clearly there is an agenda with the books being published these days.

And no obama doesn't read these he endorses whom ever pays him the most to.

I hadn't heard anything about Obama being paid. But he, like many, have an agenda on what he (his team) thinks people should read that furthers their beliefs. And many of the young editors who are buying these days are progressive. As a result, they are buying progressive and/or diverse manuscripts.

Right. Because the world of literature has been dominated by white men for eons. Some balance it way overdue. Sharing voices of women or people who are not white, is hardly progressive. It's just including more people in the story telling.

It's been decades since literature was all white men. Even the oldest readers grew up with James Baldwin and Alice Walker in middle school. A women of color with a book is hardly a new thing in 2026. But a crappy book is still a crappy book regardless of the race and gender of the author. Mediocre books shouldn't get a lift because the author fits a box. Bad books are bad books.

DP. 51 y/o here. Most absolutely did not grow up with Alice Walker or James Baldwin in school.

My husband and I are in our 40s and we had to read Amy Tan and a lot of other immigration trauma that I can’t even recall in school. It was monotonous. I can’t recall a single book I read in school that gave me a happy or positive feeling upon finishing it. All depressing sadness and guilt. Great for teens mental health.

Ok... but that isn't limited to immigrant fiction- its not like Faulkner, the Brontes and hawthorne were uplifting or Toni Morrison, starting with number the stars and Alan and Naomi in 5th grade, excepting the Shakespeare unit & Austen if you were fortunate enough to have her, all the novels were sad and depressing. and I completely agree about the toll that takes on teen mental health, especially today when they dont read Wilde, shakespeare or Austen in school anymore. I also agree that Amy tan wasn't good enough writer to be on our high school reading list BUT Jhumpa Lahiri is that good. there are plenty of fun immigrant narratives- the dial A for auntie author comes to mind but most literature is not fun--- it hurts a little to read other than plays and they aren't really meant to be read are they? I think that is why people adore Jane Austen so much- the danger is real but she sorts it all out in the end while crafting wonderful prose and spot on observations of human nature.