#bookaday 26: Should have sold more copies

This is a tough one, because I have absolutely no idea of the sales figures of any of the books I read. Obviously I can make a reasonable guess that when I read something that's spent a year on the bestsellers list - your Harry Potters, your Gone Girls, your Girl With The Dragon Tattoos - it's a book that will have sold pretty damn well. Other than that, though, I wouldn't have a clue. It's not something I ever think about.

So, I'm simply going to choose a great book from a small press publisher: King Crow by Michael Stewart, published by Bluemoose. Now, I think I can safely say that this book must have sold a great deal more copies than most small press novels: Guardian readers voted it for it in 2011 to win the Guardian's 'Not The Booker' contest, for a start. It has a not inconsiderable 26 reviews on Amazon. But I would certainly imagine it's no Da Vinci Code in the sales stakes, and there's no justice in this. It's an incredibly gripping, clever, original novel with a rare authenticity to it that really makes it stand out from the crowd. I heartily recommend it.

I've reviewed King Crow before, so I won't go into more detail, but you can read my thoughts on it here.

Comments