wrathofkublakhan Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 It's been fun watching everyone chime in on horror, fantasy, mystery and the rest. -------------- My problem with novels is that I'm tired of the "clever novel." I hope to not see any more bears on unicycles, girls with big thumbs, girls shouting "arp, arp, arp", rest stops in America, carrying in a dead duck to a faculty meeting, etc. I think of them as plausible situations to make an unusual circumstance; and this just feels like these authors all attended the same prep school creative writing class. My second problem is why do they have to print "a novel" on the cover? Does anyone else feel that's just pretentious? When I write my Great Novel - The Adventures of Wrath in the Book Club Forum where I describe meeting all these wacky characters, I won't let them print "a novel" on the cover -- because I am not pretentious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Poppy Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Oh No! I knew you were up to something! I will look forward to reading your disguised novel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Yeah, I know what you mean. I can't stand books which have 'a novel' printed on the front cover - so I purposefully avoid them out of protest. Why do they do that? I try to avoid 'clever novels' too - there's a lot of them out there now though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maureen Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 Wrath, I will be looking forwards to read that! And I will feature in it too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 /whoosh/ Gotta get in before it's done! How do ya feel about "fiction" printed on the back cover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted June 30, 2007 Share Posted June 30, 2007 How do ya feel about "fiction" printed on the back cover? I don't mind that so much as it's usually out of the way, down by the ISBN number. Also, there are a lot of books written as if they are factual, so it's handy to have on them somewhere that they're actually works of fiction. I actually don't mind too much about the "a novel" bit when it's in such cases as "an illustrated novel" - some folks don't like them and might be miffed to get a book home only to find it's full of pictures. Other people actively seek out graphic novels, and it's nice to be able to see at a glance which are graphic / illustrated novels. In cases where it's just "a novel" though, it seems a bit pointless. "A novel of... " however, can be pretty good, for example, "The Winter King - A Novel of Arthur" by Bernard Cornwell - folks might not realise it's part of a series at first sight if it weren't for that addition... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrathofkublakhan Posted July 1, 2007 Author Share Posted July 1, 2007 however, can be pretty good, for example, "The Winter King - A Novel of Arthur" by Bernard Cornwell - folks might not realise it's part of a series at first sight if it weren't for that addition... I totally agree. A hint or clue about what is going on is always helpful. But, I'll stick to my guns and state that "a novel" on the cover only pads the author's ego, it tells us: the buyer, nothing of value. Did Agatha Christie get "a mystery" on her books? How about Asimov, "a science fiction." I just don't understand why "a novel" exists on a cover - I promise I won't confuse with The Dummies Guide to Internet Sweepstakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 After reading this thread, I was in a bookstore, looking at the table of their recommended paperbacks, and almost every single one had "A Novel" after the title. As if I couldn't tell that it's a novel. I think you're right, Wrath...it pads the author's ego and makes him or her feel like they've written great literature, even if they haven't. Needless to say, I didn't buy one. I was just turned off by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icecream Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 I never understood why some books have a novel after the title. Obviously it is a novel. I don't get it, and it sounds pretentious. I don't think I would be put off buying one because of it, but in my stupidity I would probably wonder why it was part of the title and it may steer my thoughts about the book awry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Another thing that's bugging me lately about novels is when the author's name is larger than the title of the book - it really narks me for some reason! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona Posted July 2, 2007 Share Posted July 2, 2007 Yes - that bugs me too. Actually thinking of it, a lot of things bug me about some books. Pink covers, the 'a novel' thing and oversized author names. I don't think I go out of my way to avoid that as such, but it is a turn off. I don't really think I have amny books where the author is larger then the title, which probably means I do avoid them. I hate it with movies when they do that as well. I avoid Brad Pitt movies and Tom Cruise - I know there are other actors with big names out there as well - but their names are kinda different. They're not just actors. In fact, their name is often bigger then the film. I hate that. Just cos the author wrote it, or the actor is in it doesn't make it a good book or film - whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Actually, you've just reminded me of another nark about novels. When a film is made of a book, they tend to reissue the book with a movie tie-in cover and plant such words on it as "Now a major motion picture!" on them. It was a book first - isn't that good enough?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Actually, you've just reminded me of another nark about novels. When a film is made of a book, they tend to reissue the book with a movie tie-in cover and plant such words on it as "Now a major motion picture!" on them. It was a book first - isn't that good enough?! That really annoys me too - in fact, I'd go out of my way to avoid buying one with a picture from the film on the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Actually, you've just reminded me of another nark about novels. When a film is made of a book, they tend to reissue the book with a movie tie-in cover and plant such words on it as "Now a major motion picture!" on them. It was a book first - isn't that good enough?! I always try to get the edition that has no tie-in, but sometimes that's all the bookstores carry. I'll then go to a used bookstore that will have older copies...before Hollywood got a hold of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Yeah, that is bugging. I'm currently a little annoyed that I can't currently buy The Ruby and the Smoke by Phillip Pullman without Billie Piper's face on the front cover. That really bloody irritates me. I watched that on TV - and she really can't act that well, imo. So having her face on the front cover annoys me. Don't have anything against the actress - I don't know much about her apart from she seems quite nice - I just don't want her face on a book I'm reading. I hate books with photographs on the front cover anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted July 3, 2007 Share Posted July 3, 2007 Yeah, that is bugging. I'm currently a little annoyed that I can't currently buy The Ruby and the Smoke by Phillip Pullman without Billie Piper's face on the front cover. That really bloody irritates me. I watched that on TV - and she really can't act that well, imo. So having her face on the front cover annoys me. Don't have anything against the actress - I don't know much about her apart from she seems quite nice - I just don't want her face on a book I'm reading. I hate books with photographs on the front cover anyway. I ended up with that version because I couldn't find the 'proper' one. I see that the sequels have a different actress. I'm not sure if they're playing the same role (Sally) as BP, having not read the follow-ups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 ...Why do they have to print "a novel" on the cover? Does anyone else feel that's just pretentious? After reading this thread, I was in a bookstore, looking at the table of their recommended paperbacks, and almost every single one had "A Novel" after the title. As if I couldn't tell that it's a novel. It is a strange phenomenon. I believe the Victorians used to print 'A Novel' after the title once the serialised parts were released as a big ol' weighty tome. So for them, it was merely a matter of labelling. But then they were more likely to pretend that fictionalised first-person narratives were autobiographies so stuck 'An Autobiography' after everything. (Such as Jane Eyre: An Autobiography and I think David Copperfield is also the same...?) Gosh, I bet it was confusing to be a Victorian reader at times: "What? You mean it's not true? But my friend told me he actually met Mr Rochester! The lying toad..." But, yes, I agree that it is a rather lazy thing to do these days... Much better to do what A.S Byatt did with Possession: on the cover it actually reads Possession: A Romance, as she wants the reader to question this as they read it. When a film is made of a book, they tend to reissue the book with a movie tie-in cover and plant such words on it as "Now a major motion picture!" on them. It was a book first - isn't that good enough?! Oh god, I hate that! It's so patronising... If you did want to read the 'Novel-of-the-Film' after seeing it, would you really need a visual aid to help you remember what it was in the first place? "Oh now I know Nicole Kidman was in it...". Actually, I bet that must happen to bookshop assistants: "Well, it might have Sean Connery on the cover". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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