'Top 10' Influence

The past couple of weeks have seen many literary "best of" lists from members of the media and independent bloggers with titles ranging from The Top Ten Books of 2011 to Best Literary Works of the Year. By tradition, as an end to each year, publishers and media invariably churn out their own lists, and the fact that the results always differ significantly, makes it all too difficult for individual readers to reach a well-informed decision.

What is the point of creating such lists in the first place, and what influence do they have on the market? The Xinhua News Agency investigated the issue by asking readers, independent writers, and a few executive players in the publishing industry what they thought about year-end booklists.

Xu Liheng, a PhD student in the History Department at Oxford University, said "I personally would not trust such lists if the name or affiliations of the reviewers are not disclosed by the source." Although he sometimes follows the suggestions of major publishers or distributors, he mainly trusts his own judgment by simply flipping through a book before buying it.

In a similar fashion, and less than impressed by the reliability of such lists, Shi Yifeng, senior editor at Dang Dai (a state-run publisher) said the booklists almost never have an influence on what books he reads. "Thanks to my job, on average, I'll need to read somewhere between 50 and 60 books per year; but I'd say my social circle probably has more influence on what books I buy rather than those booklists."

The same sentiments echo with Fang Xuxiao, editor-in-chief of History Reference, who has been participating in making such lists for various media sources, and even conducted a study on the influence the lists had on the general readership in 2010. According to the results of his study, public preference was indeed influenced by the various lists; as a positive correlation was found between sales records and general media preference. One concrete example was Jiang Ping's The Prosper and Demise, a title which was constantly mentioned on TV and the radio during the end of last year, and subsequently went on to become a bestseller during the Spring Festival holiday season.

Fang also added that, "General public preference is much easier to bend than the reading preferences of those who work in the publishing field."

Additionally, the sheer number of such booklists available is problematic and oftentimes has a substantial influence on individual lists. Cui Daiyuan, author of Essence of Beijing, whose work was listed as the fourth most popular book of 2010 by China Press and Publishing Journal, when questioned about the merit of such lists, he said, "Yes, there was a jump in sales after they put my book on the list, but I can hardly see it as the cause of its sudden popularity since there are simply too many booklists out there. And it is not uncommon for them to name someone unheard of or who is without merit." And when asked about the quality of similar booklists, he said, "One needs to examine the lists separately. I saw a couple of lists that do not distinguish between individual and group purchases, which both create results almost impossible to interpret, as books that are obviously required reading for school or for standardized tests topped the list among books that were more or less considered as casual reading."

Publishing industry voices are not heavy with affirmation for booklists either. Su Jing, editor-in-chief of Wenzhi Lab at the Beijing Xiron Publishing house, revealed that her organization seldom spends much time in networking with the creators of such lists in order to get the lists to bend in the organization's favor. "Although we see the lists as an easy marketing tool, what matters most are the content and quality of the books."

Something different that has been recommended by executive players in the publishing trade is the creation of a list called Worst Books of the Year. The idea, lead by Yuan Fusheng, editor-in-chief of the Culture section of Morning Weekly said, "So far, I only have four people on board; what should be noted is that the list we create does not represent any institution, and it is solely based on our judgment and preference." Yuan also voiced his concern about the inevitable effects of such lists by saying, "There is no such thing as bad publicity. Some books do not deserve the attention to stir outcry and public debate. But on the other hand, it might also be a good thing; at least it leads to independent thinking on the reader's side."