huge California thrift store with large book section: James Patterson books dominate the shelves

[Demovictory9]

I estimate that James Patterson books were 50% of the fiction section (thriller/mystery)



I find that his books dominate most thrift stores. are his books that good?

[Srkdqltr]

1. I don't know about that but I liked the ones I read.

He has written a lot of books.

[Demovictory9]

5. I have liked a few. some of them had stupid endings. don't like the ones about the guy with a

zillion kids

[exboyfil]

2. Comfort food

I read the first eight or so of the Alex Cross. Gave up after that.

[Demovictory9]

4. is that the character with 1 billion children?

[exboyfil]

7. Three according to Wikipedia

Am I missing a joke?

[Demovictory9]

8. no... another regular James Patterson character has 10 kids.

[rsdsharp]

10. That's Michael Bennett -- a New York City detective.

[Demovictory9]

12. yeah, that's the one. Patterson also has a series starring a group of women

[rsdsharp]

14. The Women's Murder Club.

[Demovictory9]

23. yes. I've read a few. That series is highly rated (amazon review stars)

[rsdsharp]

25. It is good. Far better than the short lived TV series

starring Angie Harmon as the blond Lindsey Boxer.

[RockRaven]

3. Or are they that bad?

They certainly sell well, IIRC.

[Demovictory9]

6. yep, they do sell well. no need to pay full price. Sooooo many at the thrift shops.

[LuvNewcastle]

9. He's good at what he does.

I wish I could write as well as he does. He's able to keep his reader interested and invested in his novels from beginning to end, usually. I don't think he pretends that his novels are great literature or anything. He doesn't want them to be because that stuff hardly sells most of the time. But even being popular fiction, it's still better than just about anything you see on cable.

[rsdsharp]

13. I say this as someone who has all of the Alex Cross and Women's Murder Club series

I’ve also got a few of the Michael Bennett and the Maximum Ride (flying kids books) and some of the free standing books, and the “nonfiction” account of the King Tut death.

In short, I’m a fan, but I question how much, or how many, of the books with his name on them he actually writes. He has joined the late Clive Cussler and Tom Clancy in publishing books “with” a coauthor. Even as short as his books are (average chapter about 4 pages which creates a lot of blank space in what looks like a 350-400 page book) he publishes about 6 books a year. Nobody is that prolific.

[LuvNewcastle]

16. I didn't know he used a co-author.

Well, that sure would explain how he does it. I'm naturally kind of a lazy person, so I think a lot of people are hard workers who are just normal. But I have noticed that he comes out with something every time I turn around, and I have thought that that man must be some kind of human Dynamo. It never dawned on me that he had a co-author. Well, I guess that brings him down a notch or two to human level. Not all the way down to my level, of course, but to a level I can relate to. I had wondered how he manages to enjoy all of the money he makes, because he obviously works about 20 hours a day. It's nice to know he can take a vacation.

[Demovictory9]

21. most of his books now list a co-author

[GP6971]

11. I liked his work better

before he started using co-authors. Still enjoyable though.

[doc03]

20. Yes I used to read his books a few years ago until I read a couple with

co-authors, I have just lost interest. I don't think he writes anything today just puts his name on stuff.

[japple]

15. Speaking for my Friends of the Library group, we are frustrated by authors who churn out

book after book (sometimes using co-authors) and have enormous collections that take up tons of space at our semi-annual book sales. I can't believe that everything he has written is good enough to command such a huge following, though I have never read any of his books--just not my type. We unpack huge numbers of books, and we sell some, then have to pack all of the unsold books back up for the next time. Same goes for other writers like Clive Cussler, Danielle Steele, Dean Koontz, Nora Roberts, those Amish romance books, Harlequin Romance books et. al. We have discussed putting those in a "free books" pile just to get rid of them, because we know that there will be another huge load next time.

[Demovictory9]

22. Dean Koonz isn't anywhere near as prolific as Patterson

[Demovictory9]

24. I see Coulter, Cussler & a few others taking a lot of space at the library but none like Patterson

[madamesilverspurs]

17. There was a series of books

about the settlement of the west, each book was named for a state. Sorry, I don't offhand recall the author's name. Anyway, someone lent me the whole set while I was laid up; easy reading, mildly entertaining. But I had to quit reading them when one story had a kid begging her daddy to pull over the covered wagon so she could make a pet of the prairie dog "puppy" that was chasing after the wagon. Ye gods.

Pretty sure the author wasn't Patterson. But I see those books at thrift stores and just chuckle.


.

[drray23]

18. no they are not.

this guy is enormously succesful because he basically is the Thomas Kincaid of book writing. He has a formulaic style and employs several ghost writers who help him churn out several books every year. He writes little of it himself, rather he directs and keep his brand going.

[42bambi]

19. I love every book I've read so far - but I become so engaged in his writings that I

just can't get anything else done!