Abandoned books and other stuff

Ten years ago I remember seeing a list of arguably the most unpopular novels of the time, on the basis that they were the titles most commonly abandoned in hotel rooms, the data being compiled by the budget chain Travelodge. The publishing world was somewhat different in 2012 to the present day and I thought it might be instructive to compare the results then to the present day results, or as near to the present day as I could find, and see which current novels have also so displeased their purchasers that they simply discarded them, not even being prepared to carry them out to their cars.

It may not have come as a particular surprise to anyone to learn that the book which came top in 2012, with around 7,000 copies being abandoned, was the erotic bestseller by E L James, Fifty Shades of Grey, which accounted for almost one in every three books that had been dumped, Travelodge stating that in all a total of 21,786 books had been recovered from its 36,500 hotel rooms during 2011. It will probably also not be entirely surprising that the other two books in the trilogy – Fifty Shades Freed and Fifty Shades Darker – also made the ‘Books Left Behind’ worst-seller list at numbers 4 and 7 respectively. I haven’t read any of these three novels, and so I’m not qualified to comment on their literary worth, but I do think it’s significant that most people I’ve spoken to who have read them, or have tried to read them, have dismissed them as boring rubbish.

But I am familiar with the work of the late Steig Larsson, whose three novels also featured prominently in this list, and again their inclusion does not come as any kind of a surprise to me, because I thought the books were really very average indeed. In fact, I couldn’t even be bothered to finish the last one in the series. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins also proved to be unpopular, as did her other two books. But as well as this collection of entirely forgettable novels, there were also some surprises, including The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry and John le Carre’s classic Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

The full and unexpurgated list 2012 was as follows:

Fifty Shades of Grey    E.L. JamesThe Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Stieg LarssonThe Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest Stieg LarssonFifty Shades Freed    E.L. JamesThe Hunger Games    Suzanne CollinsThe Girl Who Played With Fire Stieg LarssonFifty Shades Darker    E.L. JamesCatching Fire Suzanne CollinsMockingjay    Suzanne CollinsThe Help    Kathryn StockettOne Day    David NichollsA Tiny Bit Marvellous Dawn FrenchSteve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography Steve JobsDiary Of A Wimpy Kid    Jeff KinneyThe Brightest Star In The Sky Marian KeyesThe Fry Chronicles    Stephen FryRoom    Emma DonoghueStrengthsFinder 2.0 Tom RathThe Confession    John GrishamTinker Tailor Soldier Spy John Le Carre

There are of course a number of conclusions one can draw from this data. It could be argued that the abandoned books are an accurate reflection of the changing reading habits of the British public, and a spokeswoman for Travelodge confirmed that they had noted a change in the types of books found. Previously, the majority of dumped books were either celebrity biographies or chick lit, both of which categories had clearly failed to live up to the low expectations of their purchasers. So, in 2007 the most abandoned book was The Blair Years by Alastair Campbell, which reportedly failed to satisfy on any number of levels, while the following year it was Piers Morgan’s equally unimpressive Don’t You Know Who I Am? In 2009, the book most commonly tossed aside by Travelodge customers was Katie Price’s autobiography Pushed to the Limit, which presumably she paid somebody to write for her, just like all her other books: at least E L James actually wrote what she put her name to.

Perhaps inevitably, ‘unusual’ reading material was discovered at several hotels in the chain, including a bag of Kama Sutra books found in a room previously occupied by an elderly couple in Scarborough, and in Peterborough a company CEO left behind a suitcase filled with comics. And I really don’t quite know what to make of that!

In contrast, here is the most recent list, again from Travelodge, for 2018:

The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret AtwoodThe Couple Next Door Sharri LapenaBad Dad David WalliamsOrigin Dan BrownThe Secret Rhonda BryneThe Girl on the Train Paula HawkinsPaul O’Grady’s Country Life Paul O’GradySharp Objects Gillian FlynnDairy of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway Jeff KinneyHarry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone J.K. RowlingSecret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Colouring Book Johanna BasfordIt Stephen KingThe World’s Worst Children David WalliamsFantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them J.K. RowlingBig Little Lies Liana MoriartyAll Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britain’s Political Class Tim ShipmanHarry Potter Colouring Book Warner Bros.Thirteen Reasons Why Jay AsherThe Art of the Deal Donald TrumpPrincess Beauty and the Beast Disney

But it wasn’t just books that guests abandoned in Travelodge hotels. Among the more unusual items found discarded during 2019 to 2021 were:

A 3-foot tall inflatable unicornAirline tickets to DubaiTwo first class airline tickets to the MaldivesA suit of armourA child’s Range RoverA miniature model railway setA morning suitA box of Rod Stewart CDsA vintage violinA brand new Rolex watchA Cartier engagement ringA pet poodle called PuddingA wedding bouquetA bonsai treeA keyboardA set of company tax returnsCasino chips valued at £3000A money tree to which £10,000 worth of £50 notes had been attachedA wigwamA handcrafted dolls houseA set of Hermes tarot cardsA stamp collection

and

A 6 foot heart made out of red rosesA R2-D2 robot

both of which would have been difficult to miss when the guests made a final inspection of their room before leaving.