Why we read what we read: a delightfully opinionated journey through contemporary bestsellers

354 Pages·2007·1.502 MB·English

by  Heath, John;Adams, Lisa

WhyWeRead_final_flcvr 8/8/07 7:47 AM Page 1
“Insightful conclusions regarding the common thematic threads
,
WHAT DO WEIGHT LOSS EVIL W
that resonate with American readers”—Library Journal
EMPERORS AND TALES OF
H
WHY WE
?
REDEMPTION HAVE IN COMMON
Y
We readers have many dirty little secrets—and our bestselling books are W
READ WHAT
spilling them all. We can’t resist conspiratorial crooks or the number
7. We have bought millions of books about cheese. And over a million of us
E
read more than 50 nearly identical books every single year.
In Why We Read What We Read, Lisa Adams and John Heath take an insight- R WE READ
ful and often hilarious tour through nearly 200 bestselling books, ferreting
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out their persistent themes and determining what those say about what we
believe and how we relate to one another.
A
{ {
{SOME OF OUR FAVORITE (AND REVEALING) TOPICS INCLUDE:{ D
* Repeating the Obvious: * Hopefully Ever After: A Delightfully Opinionated Journey
Diet,Wealth,and Inspiration Love,Romance and Relationships W
* Black and White and Read All * Reading for Redemption: Through Contemporary Bestsellers
Over:Good and Evil in Trials and Triumphs in Literary H
Bestselling Adventure Novels and Fiction and Nonfiction
Political Nonfiction
* Controversy and Conspiracy A
* Soul Train: in The Da Vinci Code
Religion and Spirituality T
Explore the nature of what and how we
W
read—and what it means for our psyches,
our society and our future. E
R
LISA ADAMS and John Heath are lifelong book lovers and
smart alecs who now teach literature and writing. They have E
authored and co-authored such eclectic works as Who Killed
Homer?, S’mores: Gourmet Treats for Every Occasion, Bonfire of the A
Humanities, The Talking Greeks, Business and Marketing Writing
and Actaeon, the Unmannerly Intruder.
D
Adams
Literature/Criticism $16.95 U.S./$21.95 CAN / £9.99 UK Heath
ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-1054-9
ISBN-10: 1-4022-1054-X Lisa Adams and John Heath
www.sourcebooks.com C
P N
U A
E
whyweread_INT 8/7/07 5:20 PM Page i
WHY WE
READ WHAT
WE READ
{ {
A Delightfully Opinionated Journey
Through Contemporary Bestsellers
Lisa Adams and John Heath
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Copyright © 2007 by Lisa Adams and John Heath
Cover and internal design © 2007 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover photo credit line?? (designer to add)
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of
Sourcebooks, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information
storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writ-
ing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.
All brand names and product names used in this book are trademarks,
registered trademarks, or trade names of their respective holders.
Sourcebooks, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor in this
book.
Published by Sourcebooks, Inc.
P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410
[phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.sourcebooks.com
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the publisher.
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
DR 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ...................................vii
Chapter 1
What We’ve Done and Why We’ve Done It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 2
The Obvious: Diet, Wealth, and Inspiration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 3
Black and White and Read All Over:
Good and Evil in Bestselling Adventure Novels
and Political Nonfiction ...............................59
Chapter 4
Hopefully Ever After: Love, Romance, and Relationships. . . . . 117
Chapter 5
Soul Train: Religion and Spirituality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Chapter 6
Reading for Redemption: Trials and Triumphs
in Literary Fiction and Nonfiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
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Chapter 7
Deciphering Da Code: Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Appendix: Bestseller Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
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To J and L,
whose lives really were changed by a book
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are much obliged to Cindy Adams, Nora Chapman, Victor
Davis Hanson, Erin Lee, Rick Maze, and Michelle McKenna,
who read portions of our early drafts and provided invaluable feedback
and advice. We are grateful too for the countless illuminating discus-
sions wehad with other friends and associates about their thoughts on
books and bestsellers and on our findings in this project.
We are greatly indebted to our agent, Sharlene Martin, for believing
in this book and for representing it with her trademark gusto. We
wouldn’t be here without her. Equally essential were the folks at
Sourcebooks, especially Peter Lynch, Erin Nevius, and Heather Moore,
who had faith in two authors in search of a platform. Nowit’s up to us.
And finally, a special shout-out to Emma for putting up with our
tottering stacks of books and endless yakking with such enthusiasm
and good humor.
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1
WHAT WE’VE DONE AND
WHY WE’VE DONE IT
Okay, we’ve got a bar bet that can’t be beat. We’ll wager fifty dol-
lars you can’tname the title of the book we’re about to summa-
rize. We’ll even give you a hint: it roosted in the highest echelons of
the bestseller list for three straight years, from 2003 to 2005, and it
was still going strong throughout 2006. Ready? There are plenty of
details here, so pay close attention—you get only one guess!
Professor Robert Langdon, a middle-aged Harvard art his-
torian and symbologist (great workif you can get it), is inter-
rupted late at night to assist in solving a hideous crime—the
mysterious murder and mutilation of a well-known European
scholar and researcher. In his reluctant pursuit of answers,
Langdon soon finds himself aligned with a young and bril-
liant beauty who was raised by the murder victim. Because
she has followed in her pseudofather’s intellectual footsteps,
her technical knowledge becomes essential as she accompa-
nies Langdon through many of the most important European
museums, churches, and artistic monuments in search of
the murderer—and the answer to a much greater puzzle of
earth-shattering significance to Western Christendom.