Date: Thu, 09 May 2002 10:19:23 -0400
From: "Michael Walsh" <MJW at mail.press.jhu.edu>
To: <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: SF and the Bestseller Lists
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

Quote attribute to lots of folks: "that if it's good, it's not science =
fiction".

BTW, it's Len Deighton.

mjw

>>> StrongL at MTMC.ARMY.MIL 05/09/02 10:08AM >>>
	A couple of years ago, I was donating sf to the Woodrow Wilson
Public Library in order to build up their collection.  I got into an
argument with one librarian about what sf was.  She finally stated that sf
was books with weird covers.  B-?  O.K.  Jack Vance's Planet of Adventure
series with aliens on the covers is sf, but Leigh Deighton's alternate
history _SS-GB_ isnt't.  Yesh.

-----Original Message-----
From: Erica VD Ginter [mailto:eginter at klgai.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 09, 2002 10:01 AM
To: 'WSFA members'
Subject: [WSFA] Re: SF and the Bestseller Lists

Oh, this is going to be fun to watch! Recently, Post columnist Bob Levey =
did
a column about Oprah Winfrey's book club, saying he'd been wrong to put it
down. You see, he had looked over the list of her picks and found only
worthwhile books, no trash, including no science fiction. I was going to
write a letter, but what's the point? You know all SF is is that space =
opera
shit and people running around in rubber pointed ears!

Erica
the jaded cynic

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Smith [mailto:sgs at aginc.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 08, 2002 10:27 PM
To: WSFA List
Subject: [WSFA] SF and the Bestseller Lists

The Washington Post has an interesting article on SF (and other genre
literature) in relation to the "bestseller lists".  Basically, the
current "bestseller lists" are compiled from sales at selected "elite"
bookstores. They don't reflect popular tastes, and they're not intended
to.

This may be about to change.  There is a new book sales tracking system
called  Bookscan.  This will let people track the actual nationwide
sales of books, instead of sales at just a few stores.  While it's
really intended for publishers, they expect the bestseller lists to
become a lot more populist.

When a similar system called Soundscan for tracking music sales was
introduced, it caused a major shakeup in the music business.
Traditional "top 40" had ignored country and rap, which turned out to be
major market segments.

Anyway, it may get interesting.  The article is at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24656-2002May2.html

--
Steve Smith                                           sgs at aginc.net
Agincourt Computing                            http://www.aginc.net
"Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense."