Comments for Page Turner

Comment on Two Irish masters vying for this year’s Man Booker Prize by Rinky

Rinky — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:15:14 +0000

Guess i need to go through your older posts to get them then. I am new to your blog actually. However, count me in as a regular henceforth.

Comment on Two Irish masters vying for this year’s Man Booker Prize by Soumya

Soumya — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:55:43 +0000

Yes, I much admire Toibin. Pity the book didn’t make it to the shortlist. Recommendations are the point of this blog. And I often do recommend writers who aren’t tremendously well-known…

Comment on Two Irish masters vying for this year’s Man Booker Prize by Soumya

Soumya — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:49:50 +0000

No, no, it is NOT remotely Bridges… The Toibin, particularly, is highly recommended. Read also his stories, Mothers and Sons. Marvellous. Which Booker-winning novel have I absolutely hated? Will have to think. I can’t say I have read them all. And you?

Comment on When writers recommend writers by Soumya

Soumya — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:46:31 +0000

Pleased to hear that…

Comment on Two Irish masters vying for this year’s Man Booker Prize by Rinky

Rinky — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:43:53 +0000

Looks like you have cast your vote for Toibin. I must confess that i hadn’t heard the name before today but you have done well in selling it to me atleast. Your description of it warrants a must-read. It would also be helpful if you recommended lesser known but good writers through one of the posts. Helpful to the author as well as amateur readers like me.

Comment on When writers recommend writers by Rinky

Rinky — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:34:37 +0000

I feel that blurbs should not be summarily dismissed but should not be relied on completely either. More often than not, the blurb helps if taken with a pinch of salt. So if a blurb says that the book is “The best written in the century”, “A racy page-turner” etc etc. then there is a fair chance that it will not turn out to be a complete dud, even if it doesn’t measure up to “The book of the century”. And I agree with Soumya that blurbs from authors you admire are definitely helpful coz then you know what is being said and in what degree you expect it to be applicable.

Comment on Two Irish masters vying for this year’s Man Booker Prize by driftwood

driftwood — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:03:49 +0000

unfortunately i havent read either of them. will have to now that u recommend them.
the trevor…er…ummm…its not another bridges of madison country..rite?
is there any booker winner u have absol hated?

Comment on When writers recommend writers by Soumya

Soumya — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:21:56 +0000

So you are saying that blurbs help you, aren’t you?

Comment on When writers recommend writers by skk

skk — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:01:45 +0000

I picked up a couple of books (Yellowcake by Ann Cummins, Sliver of Truth by Lisa Unger to name two of the lot) today based on their covers, synopsis and ofcourse their blurbs. Now, all of them have been written by authors whose names i have never heard of. Neither have i heard of the authors who have “blurbed” on the books.
I feel one must, once in a while, read books like this for new books introduce you to a new author and thus a new person’s style of narration and writing. Going back to the same author again and again is kind of boring (atleast for me) until and unless the author is absolutely outstanding. And one can never be sure if the author who could blow your mind with his/her first book would be able to even impress with his/her subsequent books. And you never know, you might just fall in love with a nondescript book written by an unpopular author.
So blurbs and even the cover and title of the book do influence its success or lack of it in the market. And blurbs are extremely important when it comes to sale of your book outside your country.
I recently finished reading Above Average by Amitabha Bagchi and i quite liked it. Now, if someone in US were to stumble upon it by chance, how is he going to know how the novel is if he doesnt read its blurbs. Ofcourse, one can consult the world wide web. but is every book given proper reviews and space on web? So if that person leaves Above Average just because he has neither heard of its title nor its author’s name, despite the book’s rich blurbs, wouldnt he be missing a good book?

Comment on When writers recommend writers by Soumya

Soumya — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:56:53 +0000

Ah, there you go, Gina…