Replace Richard and Judy with Oprah and Waterstones with Barnes and Noble and you get the US version: “‘They rely on Richard and Judy Page-Turners, the main prizes, three-for-two and that’s about it,’ he says, citing a client of his whose novel has been well reviewed across the broadsheets but is not stocked by Waterstone’s.”
This article has some interesting points. What is the purpose of book review pages? Who’s side is it on? Is it to sell books (on the publishers’ side) or to promote new books to the audience (on the readers’ side)? Are more people reading Dan Brown because that is what they really want or because that is what the publishers are giving them with the help of media?