Even before this, I read a lot of backlist books. In fact, the book I was reading earlier this month, inspired this post. It was first published in 1989!
See, I do understand the desire to read the new book that everyone is talking about. There've been books that I'm sort of interested in, but then the level of blogger excitement causes me to read the book when I might have given it a pass. (Needless to say, not always to the best results.)
But, if you need convincing, here's five great reasons to give that old book you've been meaning to read a shot.
#1 There's just something about the writing style.
There's something different about the writing style of books from the 80's and 90's. Maybe it's because of the books I read growing up, but I like the style of writing. It's comfortable. The word choices and sentences just feel different than the newer books.
#2 Fun!
In this day and age, most books are going the 'darker and edgier' route. While I do enjoy that occasionally, I am mostly a fan of fun books. Grimdark doesn't interest me - and it wasn't quite so much of a thing in older books.
#3 They're unknown and untalked about.
Sure, it can be a little lonely reading these sort of books, but, you know, you can also get people interested in a book they might never have come across before.
#4 Uniqueness in a sea of 'this again?'
I love backlist books because they're something different than the current trends and offer a lot more selection. Sometimes new books all start sounding the same, but that's never a concern with older books.
#5 They're cheaper!
Self-explanatory, no? Even buying a book new - if you can actually find it - they're usually cheaper than the current new books. (Partially, I think, because they were most trade/mass-market paperbacks.) But, also, even buying them used, they're usually quite a lot cheaper than new books!
Have I convinced you yet to give 'backlist books' more of a chance? Or do you already know how awesome backlist books can be?
