Product Placement in Books

James Patterson is one of my favorite authors. He's the only author whose books I've read I can't put down- literally. I finish them in less than a day- which annoys me because I like the idea of reading a book before going to bed every night or at a coffee shop on the weekend. But, Pattersons books are seriously un-put-down-able!

James Patterson has 3 kinds of books- the Alex Cross Series, the Women's Murder Club and some romantic stuff that I've never read. I love the Alex Cross series- perhaps because Patterson has so many books in that series and all of them revolve around Detective Alex Cross and his family and friends. You get to know Alex Cross and his family and that, I think, is one of the biggest selling points of his series. He's a very likeable character, and he's really good at what he does. Oh, and if you decide to read the Alex Cross series, try and go in order- the best part, 2 of his best books are the first in his series- Along Came a Spider and Cat and Mouse. The movies don't compare- the books are awesome. I read a few of the Women's Murder Club books and wasn't that impressed by them- probably because there was no Alex Cross and he was something I was accustomed to and expected when I picked up a Patterson.

There's my bit of free advertising for Mr. Patterson. I can't wait for him to write more in the Cross series.

Now for the product placement bit. We've seen product placements in movies and on TV. None of the books I've read so far have them. Sure, it's gonna be a long shot deciding who your target audience is or even finding out how effective your product placements have been if they use books, but think about it - If there are fans out there, like I am of James Patterson, they'd keep coming back for more - if Alex Cross used his cell phone for something out of the ordinary and it was described in the book, or if the book revealed that he read Forbes magazine on his oh-so-frequent flights because he loved how it caught him up with all the latest business news he din't get to read in the newspaper or online because he's too busy solving crimes and catching serial killers- wouldn't that leave an impact on readers? Whether people read it in print, e-books, or in their cars on their way to work, I think it's a great way to reach a new segment.

Will we see John Grisham writing about his characters using the best law related databases in his new books? I sure hope so- that's a sure way to get the law enthusiasts aware of this hot law database.