Who Reads What?
At the Sandcastle Book Club this week, someone asked about the books on the best sellers lists. They wanted to know why few of the books we read are on the list. Another member asked, “What do people read now?” The book club likes to think we read literary fiction, but I’m sure that at times we read regular fiction or mystery or whatever. We read lot of historical fiction and an occasional biography or other non-fiction.
Having recently been introduced to AI by my grandchildren, I decided to ask that great all-knowing wizard in cyberland what most people are reading. I received the following answer:
Number 1 genre–Mystery and Crime–37%
Number 2 genre–History–36%
Number 3 genre–Fantasy and Science Fiction–37% of readers 18-29
Number 4 genre–Romance–Top choice in many areas
Number 5 genre–Biographies and Memoirs
Now, what does chatgpt.com say about the format preferences? Physical Books 40%, E-books, 30% and Audiobooks 19%
What about literary fiction? What according to AI is literary fiction? …”a category of fiction that emphasizes style, character, and thematic depth over plot-driven storytelling.” In other words, books that win literary prizes! AI went on to recommend five such books. Here they are:
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong–to be released in May. Vuong follows a young man who becomes the caretaker of an elderly woman with dementia.
Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah–the author tells of three men in Tanzania who deal with class and power.
We Do Not Part by Han Kang–A woman travels to Jeju Island to confront the island’s past and her own tramatic memories.
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico–a young couple travel in Europe in an aimless existence
The Passenger Seat by Vijay Khurana–Teddy and Adam take a road trip to Canada.