NAME DROPPING

[vivico1]

Well, since the discussion in the past 3-4 days has dropped off to nearly a trickle, I wanted to ask you guys who read more novels that I do something. Of the novels I have read, few have any real names of restaurants,tv shows, movies, stars, food chains, toys, etc. or just one or two. As I read through this book I noticed a TON of them. I had two reactions. One, they gave me something to personally relate to and kind of put me in the story even more. Two, the only problem tho, was about half way through the book i was getting distracted by them, thinking, can you name anymore for whatever reason? Before I read Harlan, that you will auction chances to have your name used in a book for charity, (which I find awesome, so please dont mix this with that) man, I started thinking...do these places and products give you some kind of royalty for mentioning them? They started becoming "commercials" in a book to me. And wow, Yahoo should give you something for going on about their service and their home page! Hey I use yahoo homepage myself, I too like the way it is set up for what you want where you want it, but by this point in the book, i felt like ok let me grab a snack while i read the commercial here LOL! Maybe its me coming off the last novel I read, where nothing was left to recognize,I dont know. I like some of it in a book, to, as i said, help me feel its part of my world too, something I can relate to too but this book was on overload and yeah, thats the best way i can phrase it, I felt it was full of commercials. Anyone else notice this or feel this while reading? Either side, making it more real, or having too many? I felt both but I did get distracted by it after awhile.

[kiakar]

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vivico1 wrote:
Well, since the discussion in the past 3-4 days has dropped off to nearly a trickle, I wanted to ask you guys who read more novels that I do something. Of the novels I have read, few have any real names of restaurants,tv shows, movies, stars, food chains, toys, etc. or just one or two. As I read through this book I noticed a TON of them. I had two reactions. One, they gave me something to personally relate to and kind of put me in the story even more. Two, the only problem tho, was about half way through the book i was getting distracted by them, thinking, can you name anymore for whatever reason? Before I read Harlan, that you will auction chances to have your name used in a book for charity, (which I find awesome, so please dont mix this with that) man, I started thinking...do these places and products give you some kind of royalty for mentioning them? They started becoming "commercials" in a book to me. And wow, Yahoo should give you something for going on about their service and their home page! Hey I use yahoo homepage myself, I too like the way it is set up for what you want where you want it, but by this point in the book, i felt like ok let me grab a snack while i read the commercial here LOL! Maybe its me coming off the last novel I read, where nothing was left to recognize,I dont know. I like some of it in a book, to, as i said, help me feel its part of my world too, something I can relate to too but this book was on overload and yeah, thats the best way i can phrase it, I felt it was full of commercials. Anyone else notice this or feel this while reading? Either side, making it more real, or having too many? I felt both but I did get distracted by it after awhile.

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You know Vivico,I like the mention of places and products, to me it makes it seem so real. You are familiar with all the popular names and such so it just makes you feel right at home. I never really thought about it much before you wrote this, but I do like the ones that mention popular places and things. It also puts you into a better frame of mind when you come into a full view of the story sort of like with pictures telling you what you have already seen.

[Wrighty]

I didn't really notice but I read mostly novels. I'm going to have to go back and check that out and get back to you Viv. That's a really interesting point you bring up.

[cindersue]

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Wrighty wrote:
I didn't really notice but I read mostly novels. I'm going to have to go back and check that out and get back to you Viv. That's a really interesting point you bring up.

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I didn't really notice it. To me, it blended in. Made it a comfortable read. Maybe because it was familiar, so made the story more believable. I'll have to go back and look. I love the way the author wrote and pulled you into the story.

[vivico1]

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cindersue wrote:

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Wrighty wrote:
I didn't really notice but I read mostly novels. I'm going to have to go back and check that out and get back to you Viv. That's a really interesting point you bring up.

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I didn't really notice it. To me, it blended in. Made it a comfortable read. Maybe because it was familiar, so made the story more believable. I'll have to go back and look. I love the way the author wrote and pulled you into the story.

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Well, see I do agree with you guys,like i said, it made the story more real to me and took me into the story too but somewhere along the way, there were so many they seemed like commercials to me is all I am saying. I guess its just me.

[HarlanCoben]

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vivico1 wrote:
do these places and products give you some kind of royalty for mentioning them?

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Nope. Not a penny. Why? Do you know someone who will pay?

My lead character from my series, Myron Bolitar, drinks Yoo Hoo chocolate soda. Several years ago, someone at the Yoo Hoo company sent me a free case. I didn't have the heart to tell them that I hate the stuff -- I'm not Myron!

To say someone goes to a coffehouse is one thing. To say they go to a Starbucks is another. To say someone visits a large chain bookstore with a cafe is one thing. To say they go to a huge Barnes and Noble is another. To say a child watches kids programming is one thing. To say a father is wondering if SpongeBob is on 24 hours a day is another. I like the specific. It is how I think. It is how these characters think. We live in a society where a person can wear a green shirt and if it is bought at Walmart or if it has a little Polo horse on it, well, that can change everything. I need to recognize that.

I like the specifics. You can say a lot with them.

Harlan

[Stephanie]

Harlan,

The difference is in the details, eh? What does it say that I wear Izod pants with a Cutter & Buck shirt and Columbia sandals? Or am I just mismatched?

Seriously, I like the details as well - I want to smell the particular odor of McDonald's grease when I'm reading about a character barfing behind their dumpster.

[vivico1]

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Stephanie wrote:
Harlan,

The difference is in the details, eh? What does it say that I wear Izod pants with a Cutter & Buck shirt and Columbia sandals? Or am I just mismatched?

Seriously, I like the details as well - I want to smell the particular odor of McDonald's grease when I'm reading about a character barfing behind their dumpster.

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ROFL, lol, ok now that is just gross lol. But i love the response, I want to smell it while they are barfing outside rofl! I do like the names of things I recognise, like I said, there were just some times for me that they were distracting, dunno why. Like I said, maybe its just I am not used to the type of books that have them in them. But its a new thing to find of interest as I do this journey in novels. Just the fact that I asked about it here, shows it was something new to me to discuss. And hey, after just reading THE ROAD, there is NOTHING left in it to recognise this way,LOL, so that may be why I noticed so many of them, went from famine to feast!

[Wrighty]

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Stephanie wrote:
Harlan,

The difference is in the details, eh? What does it say that I wear Izod pants with a Cutter & Buck shirt and Columbia sandals? Or am I just mismatched?

Seriously, I like the details as well - I want to smell the particular odor of McDonald's grease when I'm reading about a character barfing behind their dumpster.

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Harlan,

I also like the details. I think it does make a difference in describing the characters (and the author as you said) and it gives you a better image of the them. We are bombarded with advertisements constantly so most people get the product references and the impression the author is trying to make. I think it also makes the reader able to relate more to the characters. If they are using a product that we also use, that makes it more personal. If they like the same drink, wear the same sneakers, have the same baby stroller or car as the reader we think we understand them better and probably like them more. It may work the opposite if we don't use the same products. That could be an additional factor when we don't like a character.

Stephanie - I will never look at a McDonald's hamburger the same way again. Or their dumpsters!

[charlottesweb93]

I am another one who likes the mention of Starbucks or Barnes & Noble. They are things I can relate to. I enjoy a book more when I can relate to something. Whether it be a person, place, or thing mentioned.

[Stephanie]

Good points all- it does help to relate, that's human nature after all. Making a personal connection to the story in some way tells us that we're not alone.