BOOKS / In the lists

Saturday 06 August 1994 23:02 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A reader has written to complain about Patricia D Cornwell's Cruel and Unusual, featured in this column last week. Derek B Cornish (sic) takes umbrage not at the book - he's a thriller fan - but at the publisher's cheek in filling the last 30 pages with the opening chapter of the author's next novel, out in hardback in October. Mr Cornish is eloquent and philosophical about the very particular pleasures of a good mystery story, not least the tension of 'keeping an eager eye on how many pages remain', and he offers some chastening consumer feedback on what he sees as a crass promotional ploy: 'Yes, I felt cheated . . . No, I didn't want to read the new first chapter; and I won't be buying the new hardback now, either. Yes, if I buy the paperback I'll expect a discount for the chapter I have already. And yes, though my mother always told me not to, the first thing I will do when I pick up a Warner book in future is turn to the back. There's more than one way of spoiling an ending.' Such a cogent rebuke should be enough to freeze a marketing person's very marrow, but it may come too late to nip this kind of puffery in the bud: have you looked in the back of the latest John Grisham paperback?

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in