Cover for The Piketty Problem

The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for The Piketty Problem: or The Robots Are Coming, The Robots Are Coming

Because The Piketty Problem was Book of the Day, some of our most trusted members have carefully looked over the cover, the description, and other aspects of this book as a part of purchase-intent focus group. We then asked each participant in the focus group if they planned to buy and read the book, and why they planned to buy and read the book or not. Their answer to that question and reasons are displayed below. We call this awesome feature The First Ten Focus Group.

Keep in mind, the responses from the members are not reviews. This is purchase-intent focus group which means the participants are people who have NOT yet bought or read your book. A purchase-intent focus group is an important and extremely useful marketing tool for any product, not just books. For other products, you might walk on the street and show people an item in a package and poll them about whether they would buy if or $X or not. These kind of focus groups are one of the ways big marketing companies find the ideal price points for products and test the effectiveness of different packaging. The focus group can help you identify your market so you how to target ads of your book, and it can (but may not) provide you new useful info about your "packaging" (e.g. your book cover, your book synopsis on Amazon, etc.). The point of the focus group comments is to give you information from people who have not bought or read your book about why they plan to buy your book which will help you in marketing the book. These are not reviews or critiques of your book because they are not from people have read the book. This is a marketing tool, not reviews. The trick of book marketing and book advertising is that you have to convince people who have not read your book yet that your book is worth buying and reading. For marketing, it doesn't matter much if people love your book after reading it if you cannot convince potential buyers before they read it that they will love it.

IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable. This is because we only poll about 20 or so readers, and all readers have to say "no" to almost all books. Over a million books are published each year. Even a very active reader cannot come close to even reading 1% of books out there.

This is also why publishing books is such a tough industry.

Heidi M Simone

76506
Without this program, I would not have sampled this book. Not only am I not a fan of highly political books and the title is a bit confusing, the cover is very unappealing for me. The blurb doesn't sound interesting to me, and the reviews (both OBC and customers) prove that this isn't for me. Based on what I read, the book does seem to be edited well. The sample didn't draw me in. I simply do not care about the two couples and their conversations, including the talk about Trump. I'm also not a big fan of humorous tones within books. All considering, I do not plan to finish this book.

First Ten review added on March 25, 2018, at 6:53 am by Heidi M Simone.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

ReviewerDiksha

254444
The cover of this novel does little to commamd attention, and I can't say that I understand the title. So, I wouldn't have bought this book. I read the official OBC review and it felt like a satire. I read the sample, and the writing style was good. I didn't see any grammatical mistakes either. However, I didn't find it indulging. For the first chapter it was basically four people talking about politics and other things. I didn't find the characters interesting. I didn't feel encouraged to read further.

First Ten review added on March 25, 2018, at 5:59 am by ReviewerDiksha.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Catherine Hsu

104096
If I had not read the sample I would not have read the book as I do not really read political satire. After reading the sample I have not changed my mind. It was professionally edited but I felt kind of bored throughout the story. I think the dialogue was especially a little awkward, but I'm not sure if this was intended because this book is satire. It was professionally edited though. Maybe changing up the dialogue a little and using more contractions would help the flow. I did not read an official review but that did not affect my decision.

First Ten review added on March 25, 2018, at 2:27 am by Catherine Hsu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Annelore Trujillo

97769
I would not have sampled this book without this program. I know you shouldn't judge a book by the cover, but it turned me away before I saw anything else. After reading the OBC review and blurb, I wasn't interested as this isn't the type of book or genre that I normally read. After reading the first ten pages, I won't be finishing this book. There was too much dialogue for me right away. I tend to not like books that are heavy in dialogue. I did like the author's descriptions. I thought the people, especially, were described well. I didn't notice any errors, so I would say the book was professionally edited. It just isn't the book for me.

First Ten review added on March 25, 2018, at 1:09 am by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

SPasciuti

419577
Ah, so this book is one that I was initially unsure of, though I was leaning toward not reading it due to the fact that I absolutely hate the cover. After reading the sample and being introduced to the awful character, George (who is awful as a person and not as a character) and his wife Suzanne, I find that I feel as though I should read this one.

I think the commentary that it brings is one of importance and am truly looking forward to seeing how it is handled. The book does appear professionally edited. As for improvements, I would suggest that the author work a little at making the exposition a little more intriguing, rather than leaving it as an interjection to the flow of the narrative. I would also change the cover.

First Ten review added on March 25, 2018, at 12:48 am by SPasciuti.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

MarisaRose

106960
“The Piketty Problem” did not initially pique my interest. After reading the book blurb, I didn’t find the main premise interesting - I don’t typically care to read about politically charged topics. For that reason, I wouldn’t purchase this book blindly. The OBC review didn’t sway my opinion in this case because I was not interested in the story’s premise. After sampling the first ten pages, I thought the author did a great job setting the scene and tone of the book. There were some sarcastic overtones that I appreciated in the sample. Further, the book appeared to be professionally edited; I didn’t notice any grammatical errors. Although I enjoyed parts of the sample, I’m still not all that interested in the main topics explored in this story. Thus, I don’t plan to read any more of the book.

First Ten review added on March 24, 2018, at 8:40 pm by MarisaRose.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Scerakor

45879
From the cover, blurb, and review of this book, I think I might have picked it up. It sounded like a good mix of educational and amusing. After reading the first 10 pages I think I've changed my mind. Although I really enjoyed the concept of this book, the sample really didn't speak to me. It seemed a lot drier than I expected it to be. I really did like how the characters came to life in the roles they were expected to take, but I will not be buying and reading the rest of this book. I didn't see anything specifically I would have changed, except perhaps including a bit more action to begin with. It did, however, seem well written and edited. The official review did not affect my decision at all.

First Ten review added on March 24, 2018, at 8:11 pm by Scerakor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Vickie Noel

249577
I don't think I would have been attracted to this book on any level, it looks just like the type I'd just breeze past. With the OBC review starting out with lots of explanations on economics and politics, I was just about ready to dump the book in my "Not Interested" shelf but stopped short when I got to the juicy part. It turned out to be the kind of book I like: drama, suspense, scandal and sensationalism alongside word pictures which are my favorite. I was thus quite psyched to check out the sample. Reading it reinforced my desire to get to the book's conclusion. The book seems professionally edited but I found some errors like "...unlike the sluggish sun..." The word "unlike was wrongly used in place of "like" since Dealy really had no control over the sun's sluggishness; "...to a large, elevated green, an (should be "and") unhindered, (comma isn't necessary) flat horizon..." I'm also a bit curious as to the level of reality displayed when Suzanne and Francesca were supposedly threatened with expulsion for simply calling a boy they liked who didn't call back. That doesn't hold as much water regarding breaking the rules as plucking their eyebrows does (since they were students.) There was a missing comma in "Although Suzanne..." which made the structure awkward, forcing me to reread the sentence again before getting the message. These minor errors can be improved on with a concentrated third eye. Still, I'll be making a lot of room in my TBR list for this book.

First Ten review added on March 24, 2018, at 6:29 pm by Vickie Noel.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Alice Heritage

173569
I might have sampled this on the basis of the cover, description and OnlineBookClub review that I saw because the political themes sound interesting. I don't think I'll read the rest of it (at least not yet) on the basis of the first ten pages because there's something about the style I don't quite like. It does seem professionally edited as I didn't notice any errors. I liked the political themes best. In terms of what could be improved, the characters' speech didn't seem very plausible. Hugo had heard of Mrs Clinton but didn't know her first name? Do French people speaking English really break into phrases like "n'est-ce pas?" I'm not sure. Anyway, I've got the free book if I decide to try to overcome that hurdle.

First Ten review added on March 24, 2018, at 2:54 pm by Alice Heritage.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

RebeccasReading

444118
This is not a book I would have normally read, based mostly on the odd cover and title. The description is actually very interesting to me though. After reading the sample, my opinion has changed. I like the topic and its political commentary. It seems like a unique, fun, and thought-provoking novel. I would suggest the author improve the cover and title to make them more appealing to potential readers. It was difficult for me to take this book seriously at first with Ronald McDonald staring at me on the cover. It seems to be professionally edited. I didn't notice any errors.

First Ten review added on March 24, 2018, at 1:38 pm by RebeccasReading.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Mercelle

204747
This book's beautiful and creative cover caught my attention and the review had me determined to take a peek. I liked that the sample was well-written using richly descriptive language and in instances where non-English phrases were used, their meaning was well explained. I came across two noticeable typos, which are that the first lines of the first two chapters are written in a different font. Because my interest dwindled as I dove further into the book and the description indicated that the book speaks about economics, I won't read the rest of it. As it is, there's nothing i would change about it.

First Ten review added on March 24, 2018, at 11:07 am by Mercelle.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

bookowlie

63036
I might have sampled this book on my own since I like satire and the OBC review was very positive. However, the cover had a juvenile feel and put me off a bit. The Amazon summary appears to be edited well, although it gives too much of the plot away. I enjoyed reading the beginning pages. The author has a nice, easygoing writing style and I wanted to keep reading past the sample. Based on the summary and sample, I am interested in reading the rest of the book.

First Ten review added on March 24, 2018, at 11:04 am by bookowlie.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Afuglsan

210013
The cover is terrifying. That's for sure. I'm not sure what the title is supposed to indicate. Either way, the book doesn't appeal to me. I don't like the subject, either. The reviews were decent, but they didn't really sway me either way. While I did like the characters, I didn't like the story. I'm not a fan of where the author is taking the book, nor do I like to read about politics. I didn't see any editorial issues. I just don't think that this is a book for me.

First Ten review added on March 24, 2018, at 6:37 am by Afuglsan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Chelsy Scherba

75151
I like the writing style which is very descriptive and detailed. The characters are interesting and I like that the book isn’t too political, at least from what I read thus far. The review said it’s a protest novel which is kind of interesting. I don’t necessarily agree with everything the author believes, but I do agree that corporations are turning more and more to technology instead of hiring people, which is horrible. I like that the author brings attention to that issue. I didn’t notice any errors, so I’ll consider reading it when I have a chance. The cover is eye catching and I like the title. I don’t read a lot of political books, but since this one is more focused on entertainment, I like that. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have checked it out independently of the club.

First Ten review added on March 24, 2018, at 5:38 am by Chelsy Scherba.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Cristina Chifane

418146
The cover reflects the title and the topic of Hallberg's book. The title itself is a very good choice. If only the first part had been chosen as a title (The Picketty Problem), then the humorous and satirical tones of the novel would not have been emphasized. Similarly, the second part of the title (The Robots Are Coming) would not have captured the seriousness of the issues addressed in the book. Together, the two parts complement each other perfectly. The blurb promises a mock-serious confrontation between the politically progressive Suzanne Dealy and her Trump-supporter husband, George, during the run-up to the 2016 presidential elections. The editorial reviews praise the novel for its social message and the fine balance between seriousness and lightness. In addition, the vast majority of the customer reviews are positive. All things considered, I would probably have chosen to read the book if I had seen it on Amazon. After reading the first pages and the official OnlineBookClub review, I will definitely find the time to read it. In the bit I have read, I have particularly enjoyed the writer's ability to vividly describe the scene between the four characters at the Canaandale Country Club. I could easily imagine them and understand some things about their personality and behaviour. Hallberg seems to know how to add that touch of realism making the characters more credible. For example, when he describes Hugo and Francesca, he notices that the Frenchman Hugo looks more Italian than Francesca and he goes on describing him in detail. No information seems to be randomly given. When they discuss Picketty, the problem of the minimum wage and the huge difference between the poor and the wealthy, there is this refence to George, the busboy who is compared to Quasimodo because of his posture and servile attitude. Besides, I could not find any typos or grammar mistakes and I am sure this is a professionally edited book considering the puns and wordplay mentioned in the official OnlineBookClub review. I am glad I had the chance of reading about this book since I have recently rediscovered the importance of writing social protest novels and raising people's awareness to a number of stringent social, economic and political issues.

First Ten review added on March 24, 2018, at 5:24 am by Cristina Chifane.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Bluecobia

267148
The cover and title made me think this might be a satire on since fiction. The amazon and book club reviews indicate it might be a debate on opposing economic opinions. This is not the type of book I usually read. I would not have read further if I were not part of this program. Reading the first ten pages I found myself rooting for the conservative man even though he was acting like a jerk. I did not like the way everyone else was ganging up on him. The reviews indicate this continues through the book. This sounds more one sided than I think a good debate should be. I feel it is good to debate political and economic views but I like to see them to be fair and balenced. I did not find myself wanting to read further. I feel that the book was professionally edited since I didn't notice any editorial errors in the first ten pages.

First Ten review added on March 24, 2018, at 12:56 am by Bluecobia.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

NL Hartje

413968
What a discerning cover! With a book touching on the dissection of the "haves and have-nots" in America, I feel like this art is very polarizing (in a good way). I wonder though, having only read the sample, who Hallberg is painting as the clown: the poor or the top 1%? This book certainly comes with a multitude of glowing commendations! The humor was lauded in almost everything I read. I wonder if laughter is enough to help me enjoy this type of economic fiction though. I personally don't gravitate toward this sector, so I'm waffling over whether or not it's for me. I didn't find much humor in the sample so I can't say I'm a believer just yet. For today, I will pass on this book simply because it is not my preferred subject matter and the sample didn't do anything to sway me otherwise. The book seems very well written though and will likely appeal to those more witty and intellectual than myself.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 10:59 pm by NL Hartje.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

N_R

317340
I really liked the book title and cover page. After reading the review, which was very positive about this book, I decided that I really wanted to buy it and read it. So, yes I am going to buy and read the whole book, at some point. I think the part of the sample that I enjoyed so much was the description of the characters and it is clear that they are just like very real people and not idealistic ones that often appear in novels. I think that the description of the relationship between the couple, as well as his behavior with the waitress, describe very realistic characteristics. The part of the sample that I enjoyed the most was the introduction of basic French as it just added a different flavor and different element to most novels. I think that as I read the book more, the characters will continue to be developed in this way. The novel appears to be well formatted and edited and I did not see any spelling errors. Personally, I like titles for chapters rather than just 'Chapter 1' or 'Chapter 2', but this is being quite picky and is more of a personal preference. The official review of this novel is very positive and spoke about the writer making a dry subject matter quite interesting and educational.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 10:53 pm by N_R.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Izesicle

237751
Had I not actually sampled the first ten pages as part of this program, I would have chosen to read or sample this book based on the cover and title. It was intriguing. I didn't know what to expect.
I am going to buy and read the whole book because of the review. It explained well. I wasn't going to read the rest based on the sample because I didn't care about the elite rich main characters but the review turned me around.
Based on what I read, the book seems like it was professionally edited. I didn't notice typo or grammar errors. Although I didn't like one sentence with two "as if..." phrases.
What I like the most in the bit I read is the fleshed out main characters.
What could be improved is nothing that I could think of.
The book has an Official OnlineBookClub review that I saw.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 10:18 pm by Izesicle.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Snowflake

127807
The title and cover fit the book very well. This is a genre I typically avoid and so it is unlikely that I would have sampled this book without the first ten pages program. The Amazon blurb was quite long. I usually prefer a short and concise blurb. However, this one was quite well done and added to my interest in this book. The OBC review was quite positive and also added to my interest in the book. As mentioned in the OBC review, there were no obvious typos or grammar errors in the sample. The writing flowed well. The thought patterns and dialogue flowed naturally and a sense of humour was evident. These are all things I enjoy in a book. However, I typically avoid political novels, I find them very stressful. I also try to avoid paying any attention to Donald Trump if at all possible. I think this book is very well done but I do not plan to read the rest of it. Thanks to the author for making it free today.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 9:27 pm by Snowflake.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Seraphia Bunny Sparks

84383
After reading a sample of, The Piketty Problem by Garth Hallberg, I have decided that I will not be reading this book. If I had not read a sampling of this book, I would not have picked it up. At first glance, the cover does not appeal to me. The cover makes me think that this is a non-fiction novel. As I read the blurb, I felt disinterested in the story. I didn't like how the author throws in political view pints and sex. To me, it sounded as if the author was saying that, because one supports Trump the other is no longer sexually attracted. This idea quickly detracts my interest in the story. I usually don't read satire novels, so I don't think that this book would have interested me. As I read the book, I did not find my interest piqued. The author doesn't engage me with the characters. As I read, I already don't like George. For me, none of the characters are very likable from the beginning. George comes off as the type to cheat, while his wife just sits there and accepts his bad behavior. I feel the characters would just irritate me. From what I have read this book appears to be professionally edited. This book does have an official OnlineBookClub review. The reviewer enjoyed the book and spoke highly of it. The reviewer does not change my decision. I don't feel that this book will be a good fit for me.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 8:03 pm by Seraphia Bunny Sparks.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

ladycraic

356160
I'm not interested in politics in the slightest so I would not have chosen to sample The Piketty Problem apart from First Ten. The blurb didn't catch my interest. Upon reading the first ten pages of The Piketty Problem, I made the decision to forego reading the rest of the novel. I wasn't a fan of the many sexual references. In addition, the conversation that Hugo, Francesca, Suzanne, and George had bored me. I felt like I had to know a decent amount of politics to understand what was going. The official OBC review mentioned that some of the characters were intricately linked together and for me, that's a massive deal breaker. I hate the drama that comes with those types of relationships. Overall, I'm not interested in the plot of The Piketty Problem and many aspects of the novel do not appeal to me. This book seemed professionally edited and I didn't notice any grammatical errors.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 8:00 pm by ladycraic.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

micoleon13

97247
This is an interesting cover page and the title definitely raises the curiosity about this book. I was interested in finding out more. The OnlineBookClub review was very complementary and outlined the story well. While it sounds like the author is talented to make political discussions over dinner educational and humorous, I didn’t think that this was a book for me. For some reason the book was not able to show up in my kindle library after I had downloaded it, so I am unable to comment on the writing or story. Going from just the review, I would have to say that this is not a book for me. Other than checking to make sure that there are no download errors with the kindle copy, I have no ideas for improvement.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 7:34 pm by micoleon13.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

CrescentMoon

56447
I don't really like the cover of the book as I don't really see what it has to do with the topic. After reading the blurb, I wouldn't pick this book up because I'm just not really interested in the topic although I do think that robots replacing humans is a unique premise. After reading the first ten pages, I didn't see any spelling or grammar errors. I like how the author incorporates humor into the story. However, I wasn't really hooked and the topic doesn't really interest me so I won't be reading the rest.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 6:27 pm by CrescentMoon.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

MsTri

255145
While the title was confusing, I was fascinated by the cover for "The Piketty Problem" and wanted to know more. The synopsis on Amazon was somewhat interesting, but it was the review that really sold me. Even though I'm not generally a fan of socially-conscious books, I like the plot for this one. I'm especially interested in Suzanne's plan to disrupt George's big day. The thing that made me most want to read this, however, was the review's mention of the wonderful puns and other wordplay in this book. The sample was enjoyable but not as much as I'd hoped, though I was glad that it seems to be professionally edited. I understand that it's necessary to lay the foundation first, but I wanted to get into the meaty parts! What I liked most about the first two chapters was the use of French interspersed with English - "Franglais", as Mr. Hallberg called it - by Hugo and the other characters. I also really liked the description of Mr. Trump on page 7. I have no suggestions for changes; I think the story is going along well, and I can't wait to read more.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 6:23 pm by MsTri.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

ccrews0408

472114
Based on the cover, title and reviews, I think I would have given this book a try. According to the reviews, many people found the book to be witty and humorous and an all around enjoyable read. This, coupled with the subtitle and cover, was very intriguing to me. After reading the first 10 pages, I think I'll pass. Though the banter at the beginning was somewhat humorous, I found it a bit dry and hard to get through. I liked the author's writing style but I would have liked to see more of a plot building to know where the story was going. This book did have an official OnlineBookClub review.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 6:05 pm by ccrews0408.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

JessNWheeler

483485
This is not a book I would have chosen to read because the cover art is unsettling and the title, The Piketty Problem, isn't particularly intriguing. However, I enjoy political satire so the editorial, and customer reviews make the story much more attractive to a reader like me. The Official Online Book Club review of this book presented the compelling conflict of the story. I lost interest in the story after the first few pages. The dialogue did not capture my attention. My original opinion was confirmed. I will not read the remainder of the book. There are no grammar errors throughout the text. I would suggest a more interesting introduction to the story.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 5:26 pm by JessNWheeler.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

ayoomisope

467065
The Piketty Problem by Garth Hallberg is a fiction novel that delves into political and economic discussions. I would have chosen to read the book without reading the sample first because the book's title and customer reviews' are intriguing. Furthermore, the cover is beautifully illustrated. The sample I read increased my interest in the book. I love how the story doesn't seem derivative and tries to explore characters, and their opinions, fully. The book seems professionally edited, however, I do not appreciate the overuse of commas in the book. Finally, the book has an official OnlineBookClub review which is insightful.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 4:41 pm by ayoomisope.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Dolor

363055
Economics and politics are the two subjects I am not interested in. Without the First Ten program, I will not buy and read this book despite the well-written official OBC review with its perfect 4 out of 4 rating. The cover looks great but the blurb did not hook me up. Reading the first ten pages made me lock-in my final decision. I have not found any grammatical error in the fist ten pages and I consider this book a professionally-edited one. I don't have any improvement suggestion for this book. I just really don't have interest in the subjects. The Piketty Problem by Garth Hallberg is a combination of serious topics about economics, technology, and political satire narrated with a touch of a one-of-a-kind humor. The replacement of low-paid workers with robots has a high probability in the coming years. As we can see these days, machines are taking over the works of humans. The story is really thought-provoking. The rich are thinking of becoming richer. What will happen to the poor when this replacement of low-paid workers with robots will take place?

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 4:09 pm by Dolor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

ritah

236447
Based on the cover and title, I would have sampled the book because it captured my attention and aroused my curiosity. The official review was so good that it had me excited to sample The Piketty Problem. I like that the novel uses its narrative and characters to discuss capitalism and economics, it'll be interesting to read about said topics in a work of fiction. I also appreciated the author's writing style and use of description, which are all the reasons why I will be reading the rest of the book. I also did not spot any errors in the pages I read.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 3:33 pm by ritah.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

kfwilson6

517343
The Piketty Problem immediately startled and frightened me with it's cover. I expected this to be a scary clown story. The title didn't give anything away so neither caused interest nor disinterest although the subtitle did make me contemplate storylines with androids. None of these potential possibilities sparked any bit of interest for me so I turned to the blurb for further information. I then understood the title and cover art, but again was still not interested. Political satires are not a usual choice of mine because I just can't see myself enjoying them at all. I read the sample and wasn't completely turned off by it. It is reasonably well-written, but the sentences are so lengthy I thought this would be a difficult book to read. Based on the density of the text and the genre, I am not interested in pursuing this book further. If this were an area of interest for me, I think I would have read it given the wonderful onlinebookclub review I read and the high Amazon ratings and corresponding reviews.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 2:44 pm by kfwilson6.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

lavellan

403587
I probably would have read the sample of The Piketty Problem if it had not been a part of the First Ten program. The Book of the Day review made the book seem exciting despite the economic topic matter. The book seemed like it was professionally edited and I did not notice any errors while reading. I enjoyed the author's subtle wit and incorporation of current events. I probably will read the rest of the book due to this.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 2:38 pm by lavellan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

va2016

119030
What I liked about this book is the vivacious
interactions between the various characters!
The cover of the book didn't invite me to sample
the book. In fact, it scared me away! The title
was not also indicative of what's inside. So, I
decided to read a few pages and decide if I would
read this book in full. But I found out that
this is not a genre that I would enjoy reading
till the end. The book seems to be professionally
edited, and I didn't find any mechanical errors.
I didn't find anything that could be improved
with the book. Although I saw an OBC review for
the book, my decision to not to read the book in
full is based on my own sampling.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 2:24 pm by va2016.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Sarah_Khan

89585
The title and cover of this book immediately caught my eye. The plot sounds intriguing and relevant, so I definitely would have picked it up. The OBC review was favorable and mentioned the great characters and writing. I enjoyed reading the first ten pages. I appreciated that we are introduced to the characters without it feeling rushed. The dialogue felt natural and it was professionally edited. I look forward to reading the rest.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 2:18 pm by Sarah_Khan.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

CataclysmicKnight

67089
I was really intrigued by this one the second I saw it, and with that cover and title there was no way I wouldn't have checked it out whether it was the book of the day or not. Unfortunately I'm absolutely not a fan of this book so far; it's basically a political anti-Trump, anti-Trump-fan story in these first ten pages. I expected something blown out to the nth degree, where anti-Trump folks were saving the world against evil robots and perhaps brainwashed Trump supporters, but it seems far more serious than that at least for now. I'm sure lots of folks will enjoy it, but I burned out on this topic months ago on Twitter.

It's also worth mentioning that this book released in October 2017, far before I would've been tired of the subject and before he even won the election, so perhaps if I read it back then it would've gone far better. I also didn't see any errors which is a plus!

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 2:12 pm by CataclysmicKnight.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

IsabelMay

229878
I wouldn't sample the book since the cover made me think it was a children's book. The sample was a nice surprise, I didn't expect this to be well-writtten, especially since the idea of robots replacing humans has already been used in many books. The humour parts were subtle, even though I would've preferred no humour at all. It seems edited and there aren't any huge flaws to point out. The reviews are mostly positive, so I'll read the rest.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 1:45 pm by IsabelMay.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

Yoli García

139064
I would not have sampled this book without this program because I do not read political satires. The OBC review made the book sound smart but did not convince me to read it. After I read the sample pages, I thought the book was professionally edited. I liked the author’s witty writing style. I will not read this book because I do not read political satires and was not into the message of the story.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 12:48 pm by Yoli García.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Emmanae

438865
I would have read the first ten pages either way, as I now own the book. I read the first bit, and it seems like it could be good, but I’m not sure. I’m not scared of clowns but even I was put off by Ronald on the cover, and I have multiple friends who have serious clown phobias, so I’m not sure that that cover choice was the best. It definitely provides shock value. One thing I loved from the Official OBC review was that Ronald is supposed to represent Donald Trump. That made me feel great about being uncomfortable about Ronald McDonald on the cover, as I’d be even more uncomfortable from Trump. The book does seem professionally edited, I didn’t find any errors. I liked the depth of description during the coversation in French in the first chapter, but I definitely wondered if Hugo and Francesca were sleeping together. I’m not going to read this book yet, but I’m happy that I own it so I have the option later on.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 10:41 am by Emmanae.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

VictoriaMcMillen

460863
In the case of this book, I believe it is imperative to allow readers at least the first ten pages to sample. The cover and title do much to catch a prospective reader, but I believe the sample seals the deal. I was not sure based on the cover and review of the book if I was going to read it. Now that I have read the sample, I most definitely will be reading the rest. I believe most adult readers will be engaged by the subject matter. I loved the camaraderie at the table and how they opened the story to what was to come. The book was edited very well and has a great flow to it.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 10:01 am by VictoriaMcMillen.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!

DancingLady

505388
The title, with it's reference to robots, was what first intrigued me about the book, but at the same time, I am almost afraid of clowns, so the cover pushed me away. The description and review inclined me toward wanting to read the book. In the first 10 pages, I liked the references to the 2016 presidential race. This made the setting very timely and current. What I didn't like was the personalities of the characters. They seem very rude and have that kind of fake, superiority feel I have encountered before with very rich people and unfortunately it is a real turn off for me. This book was free today, but I don't expect I will finish it. Because it deals with economics I may recommend it to a friend with an economics degree as the reviews indicated it is a good story and would probably be very interesting for those already interested in the subject.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 9:48 am by DancingLady.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

gali

50066
I wouldn't have sampled the book on my own, as it isn't the sort of book I normally gravitate to. I steer clear of Political satires. The cover is a bit scary and put in mind a Steven King's book. The mention of Robots in the subtitle had me intrigued. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the sample. It was well edited, but I wasn't blown away by the opening chapters. The sample opened with a tedious dialogue between two couples, and pretty soon I lost interest. I didn't care for the political tone of the book, and some of Susan's reflections made me roll my eyes. Although I like some of the humor, I didn't care for the writing. I won't read the book, as the sample didn't hold my interest. The OBC review didn't sway my decision either way.

First Ten review added on March 23, 2018, at 7:28 am by gali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No

Total ~ 37%

The Piketty Problem earned a score of 37%.

In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 37% plan to read the whole book.

IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable.

Over a million books are published each year. Any given person could not even read .0001% of the books out there. This means readers have to be very selective. Even taking the time to look over reviews and blurbs, let alone read samples, is more time than most readers can afford for most books. The First Ten is a powerful focus group that addresses those issues. It creates a helpful tool for authors, publishers, and other readers.

Go to main Bookshelves page for The Piketty Problem