13 January 2011

Titles to make one wistful

The other day I clicked on a link which led me to Biblio Quest International which, alongside its main business of searching for rare and collectable books, has a list of New York bestsellers searchable by date. They call it their Birthday Best Sellers.

So I had to, didn't I? Insert my birth date to discover which books popped up.

1 - From Here To Eternity by James Jones
2 - Joy Street by Frances Parkinson Keyes
3 - The Disenchanted by Budd Schulberg
4 - The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
5 - The Age of Longing by Arthur Koestler

Surprisingly, considering I am on the other side of the Atlantic, I recognised some of the authors and titles, which just goes to show that good writing lasts. Or does it? Would I have recognised the titles if the books in question hadn't been made into movies? Which is a point for us modern writers to ponder.

Pity I can't find a similar list for the UK. Anybody know of one?

3 comments :

  1. Mine included The Power of Positive Thinking
    The Conquest of Everest (obviously a book about how difficult it is to sell double glazing, for which they really needed to buy the first book)
    Seven Years in Tibet and
    The Spirit of St Louis.

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  2. Ho-ho-ho! It is interesting, though, isn't it? Perhaps we should submit dates by decade (those of us who can!) to see how the NY Best Seller list - and therefore reading/buying tastes - have altered.

    Thanks for calling by.

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  3. Thanks for sharing. Great sample, I really enjoyed it.

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