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ventaThis morning, moving some stuff of my desk, I uncovered a bookmark sent to me by CAMRA and advertising a book called "300 Beers To Drink Before You Die".
I just don't get this recent rash of books. 1000 Things To Do Before You Die. 501 Books To Read Before You Die. 999 Places To Visit Before You Die.
Firstly, I don't get them because they're really just filler; lists of things which probably won't be tailored very exactly to your tastes. They look like the sort of books you give to people when you don't know what to give them. Flicking through a few, I've not felt particularly inspired by the things they think I ought to do/read/eat/drink/shag.
But mostly I object to these books because I want to know who they're aimed at. If the target demographic believes that death is total oblivion and nothing comes after, then half the title is superfluous: "1000 Things To Do" would be fine as a title because, hey, you're not going to do them after you die, are you ?
If, however, the intended reader believes in life after death, then why limit yourself ? "1000 Things To Do" - and you can do them in the here and now or in the afterlife/your next reincarnation, whichever suits you best.
Why do publishers think that adding "Before You DIE" to a book title will encourage us ? Just in case life isn't enough of a struggle anyway, have another deadline!
I just don't get this recent rash of books. 1000 Things To Do Before You Die. 501 Books To Read Before You Die. 999 Places To Visit Before You Die.
Firstly, I don't get them because they're really just filler; lists of things which probably won't be tailored very exactly to your tastes. They look like the sort of books you give to people when you don't know what to give them. Flicking through a few, I've not felt particularly inspired by the things they think I ought to do/read/eat/drink/shag.
But mostly I object to these books because I want to know who they're aimed at. If the target demographic believes that death is total oblivion and nothing comes after, then half the title is superfluous: "1000 Things To Do" would be fine as a title because, hey, you're not going to do them after you die, are you ?
If, however, the intended reader believes in life after death, then why limit yourself ? "1000 Things To Do" - and you can do them in the here and now or in the afterlife/your next reincarnation, whichever suits you best.
Why do publishers think that adding "Before You DIE" to a book title will encourage us ? Just in case life isn't enough of a struggle anyway, have another deadline!
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Date: 2008-03-05 02:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-05 02:03 pm (UTC)(With apologies to the nice civil servant I know who reads this, who doesn't deserve to be accused of clerical afterlife-expectations).