Listmania and Goodreads. A good or bad thing?
Like most things
that start out with the best of intentions, I feel Goodreads and Amazon’s
Listmania have begun to try on the nerves of many writers. We are used to
people categorizing our books into a genre, but some of the lists individuals
come up with are just short of astonishing. When one sets out to write a novel,
they never imagine a day where they end up in the “best books with no story
whatsoever” list.
But categories
proposed on Goodreads seem to have taken the list thing to a new level. With
the ever-present review bullying, the uptick in solicited reviews, and the
exploding use of ads clogging the site, the use of lists to categorize books
has become yet another in a long a list (excuse the pun) of offenses that has
turned Goodreads into a network site many writers dislike using. When we start
creating lists like “aggravating female leads who get on our nerves” or “books I
have no intention of reading,” then the list epidemic has begun that slippery
slide toward oblivion. When you trivialize what was once useful, you make it no
longer palatable to those readers and writers who are seeking genuine opinions,
and not fodder for foolishness. Which is the problem with any site that strives
to be commercial and in the end only becomes a mere shadow of the professional
and well-intentioned vista it started out as.
I have watched
Goodreads and Amazon grow into the powerhouses of book promotion. Rivaled by no
other sites, Goodreads and Amazon perhaps need to start curbing the overzealous
ardor of its members and helping readers and reviewers stick to the facts of a
book, and steer clear of the fluff. I’m not advocating either site change everything,
but perhaps execute a little more discretion when it comes to silly lists, and
go back to the book-oriented sites they once were.
But don’t get me
wrong, I am all for the use of lists on these sites. As a Southern writer whose
books are usually based in and around New Orleans, I do treasure lists that
allow me to highlight the individual flavor of my work, but do I need a list
that touts best “awful sex scenes” or “books a sex stalker can relate to” or my
personal favorite from Listmania, “Nude photos UFO aliens erotica +
classic Shakespeare.” Really?
I wonder what Bill wouId think of that list? I understand 50 Shades of Grey has
changed the sexual landscape of books, and trust me, my books have a hefty dose
of panty dropping in them as well, but how much is too much? When does the list
pass the point of being useful and become comical and almost offensive.
In the end, I guess the lists that are
started on these sites are in a strange way a reflection of the world we live
in. It seems the rise of the social media has allowed everyone to voice those
once silent thoughts, and even given them the opportunity to make lists
glorifying their varied viewpoints. After all, freedom of speech is in our
constitution, but somehow I wonder if our founding fathers had to publish their
work on Goodreads or Amazon what kind of list would they have ended up on? “Hot
men in wigs do destiny?” It boggles the mind.
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