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« Patrick (and Kagan) to DC? | Main | More parent-child play reactions » Thursday, July 19, 2007The Big Head overrules the Long Tail*The mighty Arts and Letters Daily has already linked to this essay, by the Washington Post fiction critic Ron Charles, about the ambivalent effects of the Harry Potter phenomenon -- so recommending it here may be redundant. Still, it's hilarious as well as smart, so do check it out. The gist is that the blockbuster-book phenomenon may not be good for literature. Here's one musty but startling fact Charles drops into his essay: "According to a study by Alan Sorensen at Stanford University, 'In 1994, over 70 percent of total fiction sales were accounted for by a mere five authors.[emphasis added]' There's not much reason to think that things have changed." At the end of the piece, Charles (disclosure: he's a friend) says his favorite book this year was "The Law of Dreams," by Peter Behrens, a historical novel centered on a boy who -- unlike his parents -- survived the Irish Potato Famine. When Charles filed the piece for the Post, it had sold 8,367 copies in the United States. At least one independent bookstore is now plugging Behrens' book as an alternative (or complement) to Rowling's latest monster, and its publisher reports a surge in sales.   *Title stolen from an off-hand line in Ron's piece. Posted by Christopher Shea at 10:11 AM
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