The Neurotic Reader

I don't read Harlequin's site nearly as much as I should. It's sort of like Harlequin itself - vast, ever changing, a little confusing, and devilishly attractive. I've picked up Harlequin books and just longed for them, based on the cover, even though both the blurb and the writing indicate that I would hate it. (Yes, they've made their share of stinker covers, but someone there really knows how to design.) The site is the same way. It just looks like a fun place to hang out, if only you knew your way around and the cliques would let you in.

The latest thing I found there is the 10,000 book challenge. In which Harlequin challenges readers to read 100 books each and blog about them. The caveat: 50% of the reads should be Harlequin books.

It's a blatant ploy to grab online buzz and serious linkage in the form of a "contest", right? Surely no one would do it, right? It's like spending your own money on a t-shirt with a big corporate logo on it - paying for the privelege of advertising someone else. And NO one ever does that.

Well, maybe with any average batch of consumers, a company would have a hard time. But Harlequin is smart. They've tapped into two key qualities of their online readership: 1) they read big and 2) they are absolutely, utterly, list-obsessedly neurotic about their reads.

I've been on lots of online readers' groups over the years, and they make Rain Man look relaxed. Some of them make massive databases and Excel spreadsheets of their reads. They sort them by publisher and publishing year and generate reports and charts on how many five-star reads they've had per year, on average. They buy entire backlists of writers they have never tried, and then they either a) make themselves read every word even if they hate it or b) never get the gumption to touch a single one, leaving them pristine on the shelf as a "set". They do polls. They set goals to read hundreds of books a year and actually beat themselves up for not reaching them. They buy compluslively, collect and catalog, then compuslively discuss.

These guys are a bookseller's dream. Harlequin knows their market, and they're tapping into that neurosis. It goes without saying that the 10,000 book goal will be breezed over well before the year is up.

Just give them a spreadsheet, and let them do their thing.

Abby