2023年经济学人 TikTok正改变书籍销售方式(2)

 

    In many ways BookTok has become a new artistic¹ genre², where emoting about characters and plots is glorified³, even required.

    在很多方面，BookTok已经成为一种新的文艺流派，与书中人物和情节同喜同悲是受到赞扬的，甚至是必须的。

    (Unlike those buttoned-up professional literary critics, who do not tend to write about how books make them cry.)(这可不像那些缄默的专业文学评论家，他们往往不会去写书籍如何让他们嚎啕大哭。)Some old-fashioned bibliophiles may suspect that BookTok is less about books than about people seeking attention by promoting them.

    一些老派的爱书人可能会怀疑，BookTok与其说是关于书籍，不如说是关于通过宣传书籍来寻求关注的人。

    But BookTokers are already swaying bestseller lists.

    但BookTok的用户已经在影响畅销书排行榜。

    Novels categorised as “romance” have enjoyed the biggest boost, as happened with previous technological⁴ shifts, including the rise of e-books.

    “爱情”类小说的销量增长最为明显，这和之前的技术变革（包括电子书的兴起）情况类似。

    Colleen Hoover’s “It Ends With Us” went viral on TikTok in early 2022 and has sold over 1m paperback⁵ copies in Britain.

    科琳·胡佛的《莉莉的选择》于2022年初在TikTok上大火，现在已经在英国售出100多万册平装本。

    Six of the ten bestselling titles in America last year were written by her, too.

    去年美国最畅销的十本书中有六本也是她写的。

    They pick up similar themes, such as women lusting⁶ after hard-to-get men and “trauma bonding”, subjects that fare well on the video-sharing app.

    这些书的主题类似，比如女性对遥不可及的男性的渴望以及“创伤性联结”，这些主题在视频分享app上都很受欢迎。

    But BookTok favourites are often older releases, with some, including Ms Hoover’s most popular, written before the app was invented.

    但在BookTok上最受欢迎的往往是以前出版的书，其中一些，包括胡佛最受欢迎的几本书，还是在BookTok发明之前写的。

    For example, an aesthetic⁷ known as “dark academia”, which glamorises gothic-style universities, tweed and classic literature, has brought attention to a 544-page novel published in 1992 called “The Secret History” by Donna Tartt.

    例如，有一种被称为“黑暗学院派”的美学，在这种美学中，哥特式大学、粗花呢服饰和古典文学极富魅力，这种美学风格让人们关注到唐娜·塔特于1992年出版的一本544页小说《秘密历史》。

    The popular Netflix show “Bridgerton”—big on colourful costumes, light on substance—created new fans of period romance and, in turn, inspired young readers to rediscover classic books such as “Pride and Prejudice”.

    网飞推出的大热电视剧《布里奇顿》--以色彩缤纷的服装为主，剧情内容较弱--造就了新一批古装爱情剧迷，从而也促使年轻读者重新发现《傲慢与偏见》等经典书籍。

    In August Jane Austen’s novel won “Best BookTok Revival” at TikTok’s inaugural⁸ book awards.

    今年8月，简·奥斯汀的小说在TikTok首届图书奖上获得了“最佳图书复兴奖”。

    (How Austen would have felt about this honour is another question.)(奥斯汀会对这一荣誉作何感想则是另一个问题。)Because TikTok is so visual, the app has an outsize impact on sales of physical books in particular.

    由于TikTok很重视觉，因此它对纸质书的销售产生了尤其大的影响。

    E-books do not make such attractive visual props⁹.

    电子书不会成为如此吸睛的视觉道具。

    According to a survey by Nielsen, 80% of Brits aged¹⁰ 14-25 prefer print.

    尼尔森的一项调查显示，在14-25岁的英国人中，80%的人更喜欢纸质书。

    BookTokers show off annotations¹¹ and flick¹² through pages.

    BookTok用户会展示书上的笔记并翻动书页。

    Filming themselves finishing a book in a single day against a backdrop of hundreds of them on shelves is all part of the performance, and viewers will be extra impressed if the book looks thick.

    以摆放着上千本书的书架为背景，拍摄自己在一天内读完一本书，这些都是表演的一部分，如果读的这本书看起来很厚，观众会格外印象深刻。

    Many authors remain puzzled by the app.

    许多作家仍然对TikTok感到困惑不解。

    Ms Hoover does not have a TikTok account, and neither do many of her other bestselling peers.

    胡佛没有TikTok账号，和她同龄的许多畅销书作家也没有。

    Publishers, happy for new sales, are also a bit perplexed¹³; their official TikTok accounts are unpopular by comparison.

    出版商对新增销量感到高兴，但也有点困惑，他们的官方TikTok账号反而并不受欢迎。

    The challenge is how to keep up.

    挑战在于如何跟上潮流。

    It is not as simple as commissioning more books that make people cry, squirm or shudder¹⁴ and then hoping that people film themselves doing so.

    这不是委托作家写出更多让人们泪如雨下、扭动身体或心惊肉跳的书，然后希望读者也拍出这种视频那么简单。

    Although some editors are doing that anyway.

    尽管有些编辑确实在这么做。

    Some enterprising publishers keep an eye out for gushing¹⁵ videos about forthcoming books and then snap up the rights in other territories.

    一些有进取精神的出版商会密切关注那些推荐新书的情绪高亢的视频，然后在其他地区抢购版权。

    Others are making the most of momentum¹⁶ on BookTok.

    其他人则充分利用了BookTok的增长势头。

    When Sarah Benton, a former executive at Orion, heard that “The Silent Patient”, a two-year-old thriller¹⁷ that the firm had published, was unexpectedly gaining traction¹⁸, Orion tweaked its marketing¹⁹ and told booksellers to emphasise²⁰ success on BookTok.

    猎户座的前高管莎拉·本顿听说该公司两年前出版的悬疑小说《沉默的病人》出人意料地获得追捧，于是猎户座调整了营销策略，并让图书销售商强调这本书在BookTok上的火爆。

    Such tricks are rapidly becoming the norm.

    这样的计策正迅速成为常态。

    Publishers may find that TikTok means not only new readers but also more competition.

    出版商可能会发现，TikTok不仅带来了新的读者，还带来了更多的竞争。

    ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns the app, has plans to launch its own book publisher and is said to be in discussions to sign romance writers.

    TikTok所属的中国公司字节跳动计划推出自己的图书出版业务，据说正在讨论与爱情小说作家签约。

    Publishing its own books will bring ByteDance’s relationship with literature (if its books can be called that) to a new level.

    自己出版图书将把字节跳动与文学(如果它的书可以被称为文学的话)的关系带到一个新的水平。

1 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

2 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

3 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。

4 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

5 paperback   

n.平装本，简装本

参考例句：

• A paperback edition is now available at bookshops.平装本现在在书店可以买到。
• Many books that are out of print are reissued in paperback form.许多绝版的书籍又以平装本形式重新出现。

6 lusting   

贪求（lust的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Is your husband lusting after the au pair? 你的丈夫是否正对来家打工的留学女生暗送秋波？
• He is lusting after you. 他在追求你。

7 aesthetic   

adj.美学的，审美的，有美感

参考例句：

• My aesthetic standards are quite different from his.我的审美标准与他的大不相同。
• The professor advanced a new aesthetic theory.那位教授提出了新的美学理论。

8 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

9 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

10 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

11 annotations   

n.注释( annotation的名词复数 )；附注

参考例句：

• I wrote annotations in the margin of the book. 我在书的边缘作注。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My annotations appear in square brackets. 在方括号里有我给的注解。 来自辞典例句

12 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

13 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

14 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

15 gushing   

adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话

参考例句：

• blood gushing from a wound 从伤口冒出的血
• The young mother was gushing over a baby. 那位年轻的母亲正喋喋不休地和婴儿说话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

17 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

18 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

19 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

20 emphasise   

vt.加强...的语气，强调，着重

参考例句：

• What special feature do you think I should emphasise? 你认为我该强调什么呢？
• The exercises heavily emphasise the required readings.练习非常强调必须的阅读。