The Books We Talk About (and Those We Don't)

The article seeks to establish the criteria that a book has to meet to be widely read, talked about and reviewed. It points out that aesthetic quality is only one of many critieria, and that the book's capacity to stimulate debate or intersect the collective imagination at a particular moment in time are particularly important. This leads to a discussion of the social function of fiction as a stimulus for conversation, often between people who don't know each other. The article suggests that with globalization these criteria change as readers seek to be part of a global conversation.