POPULAR CULTURE ROLE ON READING BOOK PREFERENCE: A RESEARCH ON BESTSELLER BOOKS READERS
KİTAP OKUMA TERCİHİNDE POPÜLER KÜLTÜRÜN ROLÜ: ÇOK SATAN KİTAP OKURLARI ÜZERİNE BİR ARAŞTIRMA

Author : Öznur YÜKSEK -- Bahar URHAN TORUN
Number of pages : 549-559

Abstract

Over the decades there has been ongoing discussion about semantic transfor-mation of popular culture whether it means to the choices of majorities or the directed particular preferences to influence masses. Either way, books are largely regarded as an anti-popular cultural argument. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate from the readers’ point of view whether reading has a relation with culture or popular cul-ture. To point out extent of popular culture influence area, it is crucial to reconsider the book readers’ perspective on bestseller books. The secondary purpose is to draw atten-tion and contribute to the area as the rarity of academic studies grounded from this context. In this sense, in theoretical part of the study, popular culture’s, mass culture’s and the books’ relations with them are detailed with literature survey. And the last part is consisted of in-depth interview analyses with twelve bestseller books readers from Turkey, who prefer to read them beside other types of books, in order to reveal the factors affecting book preferences; reasons of reading bestseller books, and the meaning they attribute to the bestseller books. The most interesting result of the research is seven out of twelve attendees think that frequent appearance on traditional and new communication technologies through advertisements and Public Relations (PR) works make a book bestseller. Thanks to those promotional activities, they believe not all bestseller books deserve major/global attention but meantime they all check bestseller book lists and justify reading those books due to several reasons. So it can be said the attendees are conscious of the ways making a book popular but still cannot resist to common interest in society.

Keywords

Reading Book, Bestseller Book, Culture, Popular Culture, Mass Culture

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