Some musings on this: I think lists like this are interesting when it comes to modern fiction because it speaks to a time when there are so many books and many more options for leisure and entertainment. Expert lists are curated by a very select group of people.
Speaking as a mother of children ranging from 21 to 9, there is a great fracturing of culture. Children are not really watching the same movies—if watching long form movies at all. Fewer children and young people are reading for fun. Even my own age group is more into sensational memoir than literary fiction— I base this unscientifically off of a wide variety of friends and acquaintances. I think there is a diminished role in expert reviewers, the gatekeepers and tastemakers. I’ve been reading about how these reviews no longer influence sales as they once did. Of course it’s not really about sales in the end for the true artist. It’s about truth, beauty and goodness. A great story will have that. And if art is good enough you need to have faith that it will take off—that’s why I think reader lists are more valuable in assessing cultural relevance and are, due to the social aspect of recommendations, more powerful.
Some musings on this: I think lists like this are interesting when it comes to modern fiction because it speaks to a time when there are so many books and many more options for leisure and entertainment. Expert lists are curated by a very select group of people.
Speaking as a mother of children ranging from 21 to 9, there is a great fracturing of culture. Children are not really watching the same movies—if watching long form movies at all. Fewer children and young people are reading for fun. Even my own age group is more into sensational memoir than literary fiction— I base this unscientifically off of a wide variety of friends and acquaintances. I think there is a diminished role in expert reviewers, the gatekeepers and tastemakers. I’ve been reading about how these reviews no longer influence sales as they once did. Of course it’s not really about sales in the end for the true artist. It’s about truth, beauty and goodness. A great story will have that. And if art is good enough you need to have faith that it will take off—that’s why I think reader lists are more valuable in assessing cultural relevance and are, due to the social aspect of recommendations, more powerful.