chaliepud Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Saw this article on Goodreads, can anyone think of any other examples? Personally I prefer Human Traces to Sebastian Faulkes more popular Birdsong (think I may have mentioned that once or twice before ) http://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/291-you-re-reading-the-wrong-vonnegut-or-why-authors-best-known-books-are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinay87 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 (edited) Nope! Jules Verne's best known books are A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea and Around the World in 80 days. However his best book is easily The Mysterious Island. Tolkien's best known book is The Lord of the Rings, but any Tolkien fan will tell you that his best book is the Silmarillion and/or Unfinished Tales. A A Milne wrote a lot than just books and poems about a boy and his teddy bear. Circumstances give fame while talent just lies there, waiting to be discovered. I think that's a good thing. There's little to match the excitement when you discover a copy of an author's book that isn't too easy to find and you read it, learning that it might be his very best work. Edited July 21, 2011 by vinay87 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Another reason is beacuse of averages. If 6000 have read and rated one book, but only 200 have read another, then the average for the less-read one stands a chace of benig higher (unless it's a really rubbih book and eveyrone rated it lower). The law of averages means that things tend to even out over the course of time unless something is truly exceptional, and even then, people don't agree on what is exceptional anyway - LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I think perhaps a better question would be, are the most popular books in general the best ones and leave specific authors out of the equation completely, for with books as with life, it is the message that matters rather than the messenger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinay87 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Well, Talisman, I think that's a topic best left untouched. The "best books" are often defined by their popularity. For all we know, the most beautiful piece of literature there is could be either still in the making, or it must be on a cave wall somewhere, hidden from mortal ken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Maybe, but it is an interesting question nevertheless ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruth Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I probably prefer Emma to Pride and Prejudice, even though P&P is by far Jane Austen's most popular and well known book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 I probably prefer Emma to Pride and Prejudice, even though P&P is by far Jane Austen's most popular and well known book. And my favourite is Northanger Abbey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gad786 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Nope! Jules Verne's best known books are A Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea and Around the World in 80 days. However his best book is easily The Mysterious Island. Tolkien's best known book is The Lord of the Rings, but any Tolkien fan will tell you that his best book is the Silmarillion and/or Unfinished Tales. A A Milne wrote a lot than just books and poems about a boy and his teddy bear. Circumstances give fame while talent just lies there, waiting to be discovered. I think that's a good thing. There's little to match the excitement when you discover a copy of an author's book that isn't too easy to find and you read it, learning that it might be his very best work. Well his book mysterious island is a well known book...Why do I say that you ask?THERES A MOVIE OF MYSTERIOUS ISLAND CALLED:JOURNEY 2:THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nursenblack Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 One that comes to my mind is Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. I liked it much better than the more popular Great Expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timstar Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Nowadays popularity of a book is often defined by the quality of film adaptation produced. But this does certainly not correspond with the quality of the books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleW Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I'd say, popularity and personal opinion are two completely different things. Your favourite book could be one which nearly nobody else would like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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