Peer Pressure : BTT

I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.

Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.

Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

Instant reaction: NO, after thinking a bit: Maybe.

It’s funny how some people think that if you READ, you should have read or you must read certain books. When God of small things won an award, all people talked about was the book. I agree, I did pick it up, but not because of peer pressure, more because of curiosity. I didn’t even buy the book because I wasn’t sure I would like it. I got it from the library and read the first 50 pages. I didn’t like it, but I still read some 20 pages or so because I thought there must be something that I am not getting. I left it half read. There are so many books which I would love instead of spending time on something I do not like.

I haven’t read Blink, Freakonomics or anything by Salman Rushdie for that matter. But I do try to read the “famous” books, if I get the opportunity.

Sometimes I get to know how famous or popular the book is only after buying it and surfing the net.

But I guess I do miss out on reading some great books out there just because I don’t want to be in the book reading race. I read Kite Runner one year after it was released. I saw the book frequently in bookstores on the front tables, on the best sellers list. But I was wary. I just did not like the summary and the name, so I never bought it. But one day I was just flipping through it in the bookstore, I read the first page and I was hooked.

So basically this post is going no where. I guess most of us do look at popular books and read it only if we find the genre interesting and something that we would read. That’s all.

By the way, I have read so many good reviews about ‘The 19th wife’, that I feel like I have to read it. Not out of peer pressure, mind you.