Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Everything You Wanted to Know About Suspense and Then Some.

Hi, Pamela Tracy here, and I love a good mystery/suspense. I tend to buy more mysteries, though, because for some reason if I read too many suspenses in a row, (not the Love Inspired Suspenses, of course) they start to sound alike. I can only take so many kidnapped females, so I take a break of a few weeks/months between my secular reads. Chances are, if you’re here on Suspense Day at the Craftie Ladies, you’re a lot like me.


Good, then, we’re friends!

Let’s see how much we know about our fellow mystery/suspense readers. I’ll give the answers tomorrow.

(1) Guess the percentage.

_____% of mysteries are purchased by women.

_____% of all mysteries are purchased by people who live in the South.

_____% are purchased by households with no children at home.

Here are the answers. Guess where each number fits. 77% 35% 68%

BTW, the only true thing about me, above, is that I’m female.

(2)

Okay, still having fun? Put the following influences for mystery book sales in order. 1 would be the number one reason. 5 would be the number 5 reason.

___ part of a series.

___ store display

___ know/like the author

___ book club

___ friend/relative recommended

BTW, I’m definitely a store display kind of gal. How about you?

(3)

So, how much do we read a week?

Males _____

Females _____

8.6 hours or 11.3 hours

Let’s break it up by age

Under 30 _____

30’s ____

40’s ____

50’s ____

60’s ____

7.7 hours 10.3 hours 6.7 hours 8.3 hours 11.9 hours

Btw, the source I’m using, which I will cite tomorrow, says the average reader spends 10 hours a week buried in a book. I would sooooo love to spend that much time. Wait! If I count my son’s books Horrible Harry in Room 2B and Snail at School, then I’ve done it!

(4)
So, according to my source, who is the number one mystery writer of all?

_________________________________



Hope you enjoyed thinking about all this. I love statistics!

Well, it’s summer, and I’m off to read. Right now, I’m reading Janet Evanovich’s latest. She’s number 2 on the list for Top 15 for mystery readers under 50. She’s 13 on the list for Top 15 for mystery readers over 50.

14 comments:

  1. Fun post, Pamela. I like an occasional mystery too, especially if nots one of those graphic horror mysteries. But then, I'm the same with suspense. LIS writers do such an awesome job of a good suspense without the yuck factor.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the quiz, Pamela, and eager to learn the answers!

    The number one mystery author? Edgar Allan Poe would be my guess.

    Women buy more books and read more each week than men, IMHO.

    Personally, I love suspene stories, especially Love Inspired Suspense. Yesterday I bought Sandra Orchard and Hannah Alexander's latest releases.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gotta echo Linda on the way LIS folks write suspense.

    Kudos to Debby for her latest series. I am not much of a suspense reader but I love Debby's books.

    Peace, Julie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Debby,
    Your guess needs to be current day writers, so try again.

    I by accident not that I don't love her bought Sandra's twice!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Julie,
    We're glad you love Debby's books. There's a lot to love.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yeah, the older I get, the less graphic I want.

    ReplyDelete
  7. (1) Guess the percentage.
    Im going
    a. is 77%
    b is 60%
    c. is 35%

    (2)

    1___ part of a series.

    _5__ store display

    _3__ know/like the author

    __2_ book club

    __4_ friend/relative recommended

    BTW, I’m definitely a store display kind of gal. How about you?

    (3)

    So, how much do we read a week?

    Males ___8.6__

    Females ___11.3__


    Let’s break it up by age

    Under 30 __6.7___

    30’s __7.7__

    40’s __8.3__

    50’s _10.3___

    60’s __11.9__



    (4)
    So, according to my source, who is the number one mystery writer of all?
    Agatha Christie
    _________________________________


    I actually read more like 15+ hours a week. average at least 2 hours a day.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks, Julie, for your sweet mention of my series!

    Ausjenny, you're right! The number one mystery writer must be Agatha Christie! Although I really like Edgar Allan Poe! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Agatha Christie died in 1975.

    What about Mary Higgins Clark? Is she #1?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Typo alert: Agatha died in 1976. Sorry for the error. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jen,
    I love that you gave me answers!!! Keep in mind, the number one mystery author is alive today.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Deb,
    Wow, I thought Agatha Christie was a long time ago. I'll have to look into that.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Could it be John Girsham?

    I read alot of Agatha Christie when I was a teen. I loved Cat amongst the pigions.

    ReplyDelete
  14. 1. 68, 35, 77
    2. 2, 3, 1, 5, 4
    3. 11.3 8. 6
    4. Under 30 __6.7___

    30’s __7.7__

    40’s __8.3__

    50’s _10.3___

    60’s __11.9__

    And, the number one mystery writer is James Patterson both for the under 30s and over 30s.

    Here's my source. http://www.sistersincrime.org/associations/10614/files/ConsumerBuyingBookReport.pdf

    ReplyDelete

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