Page 99 Test: A Novel Way To Promote A Book
Can you determine if a book will be good by reading one page? More specifically, page 99? That’s the premise of a soon to be launched web site. Writers can upload page 99 and we get to read it and rate it to let authors know if we would buy their book.
As a quick test I grabbed the book I’m currently reading, How To Be An American Housewife, and turned to page 99 where we find Shoko thinking about her daughter’s science project many years past. Not bad, not great. So I flipped a few more pages, which is what I would do in the book store, and this line grabs my eye,
Perhaps I should simply say it. I am probably going to die in the next few weeks. Will you go to Japan for me? She would crash the car.
Now I would be interested in reading more. Perhaps it takes several random pages to get a good feel for the book.
I flipped to page 99 of a few other books on my shelf that I haven’t started reading yet. Page 99 of Ah-Choo!: The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold is telling me not to bother trying to boost my immunity with vitamins, herbs and other supplements. OK, I’m interested enough to read more. Next I picked up Alice Hoffman’s Blue Diary, a book that’s been on my shelf for a while waiting to be read. I turn to page 99 and Collie is thinking of chopping down the apple tree and watching the bark splinter. (Eeek, bad, I love trees). He is upset by something his father confessed to him. I need to move this one up in the pile. I hope the tree survives!
I suppose there is something to being able to read a random page rather than sampling the first chapter. The characters will have been developed, the author’s writing style should be evident. I would guess most of us already turn to a random page when we’re browsing books. I know I do it but I like to touch the books and see the front and back cover too. Will this work as a business? Maybe. I signed up to be notified when the page goes live.
What do you think? Will this work?
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Update note:
It has come to my attention that there is a Page 99 Test Blog which was started by Marshal Zeringue back in 2007. It is not affiliated with the Page 99 Test site I wrote about in this post.
Under My Apple Tree 
What a great idea! Now I’m going to scour through my books to see if this pans out! I’m sure it will! 🙂
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The page 99 test has failed me once or twice in my life… but it can be a fairly reliable way to judge a book (vs by its cover). Great books are great from beginning to end, so if reading page 99 convinces you to put down one book and move onto the next, then it proves its worth by keeping you from buying a book you might not like that much. (Of course, someone else might love the p 99 you didn’t love so much.)
Naturally, other tools like book reviews, etc will continue to factor in… but this little test is just one more way to let a book prove its worth to you. 🙂
BTW: Thanks for checking out our site and writing about us…! And *great* blog.
~joanna
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I tried this on a couple of books in my teetering pile and I was intrigued by both of them. My only worry about reading so far into a book is that I don’t want to read anything spoilerish. Anyway, I signed up to be notified when the site goes live!
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OK .. such an interesting concept .. I’m going to sign up … I tried this with the next 3 on my pile (all from the Banned Books week challenge) – Running with Scissors? Yes! Page 99 would do it for me. The Tortilla Curtain? No, since it’s basically talking about a grocery store run .. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil? Most assuredly … actually kind of makes me want to take my current book and set it aside to start reading this one!
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