Pop-you-oo-lar

My friend Kaitlin posted something on Facebook today that got me thinking: "I need book recommendations. I'm not talking about popular fiction but something that I will learn from, something I can sink my teeth into. Any suggestions?"

Well you can bet I jumped on that like a rat on a Cheeto. Someone's asking about books? When that happens, I feel a little bit like George McFly finally getting to talk about aliens. It's my secret nerdiness, my one true passion. That and my KitchenAid. But I digress.

But something about her post bothered me, and it took me a while to put my finger on it. It was the implication that something popular, by definition, isn't something you can learn from or sink your teeth into. But the "popular" books that I've read have been the ones I've learned from and sunk my teeth into. I'd even venture to say that the more a book made me think, the more popular it was.

I can't even tell you how much Hunger Games was on my mind (or how much I learned from it, for that matter). Bestsellers are bestsellers for a reason, right? And blockbusters? With few exceptions, everything that's been really popular—the best stories with the most complex characters, the most entertaining movies, the best athletes—has been really, really good.

I know there are flaws in my thinking, but I really believe it. With a few exceptions (one of which is haunting me as I write this), books become popular because they are good. That's not to say that all good books are bestsellers, but if that's the case, aren't the ones that make the list that much better?

So I gave Kaitlin what she asked for: a suggestion for a book that isn't necessarily popular today. But it was popular once, and for good reason, too.

As a side note, a good portion of the recommendations Kaitlin got were quintessential popular books. And I want to read most of them.