Two phenomena are happening simultaneously in our society and it's going to be
interesting to see what happens. Both are thanks to technology and both are
conflicting with the other.
The first phenomenon is it is easier, cheaper, and faster to write, edit, and
publish a book. I have no idea how much discipline it took to write a novel on
a typewriter without spell check to catch typos and the ease of editing and
re-writing and moving text around. Then with HP's print on demand technology
replacing expensive off-set printing for producing books, its relatively
inexpensive to self-publish or start a small-press publishing house. And with
ebook technology, it is free if you do all the formatting work. This has caused
an explosion of new books on the market (according to Amazon, there's something
like one million books available for the Kindle). The problem for the
writer/publisher is how to stand out in that crowd.
The other phenomenon that is happening is I believe people, especially young
people, are becoming less interested in reading. When you can download movies
onto your iPhone or Kindle Fire why do you need to read? I think we are
becoming more of a visual society, which started with the invention of the
motion picture, accelerated with television, and is now at warp drive with the
internet, streaming content, and smart gadget technology.
So where does that leave book authors? It's easier than ever to get a book
published (selling it is another matter) but there is a dwindling audience for
books. I've been told by a publicist that the people who read books the most
are women aged 40 and up. And they are getting older and will all die some day.
Maybe with Harry Potter the so called Millennial Generation will rediscover
reading. But they are going to want to read it on their contact lens interface.
I believe the purpose of books is to make memory permanent. You no longer have
to go to the village elder to learn. That memory might be organic chemistry or
the fevered results of a writer's imagination. But in any case, once it's
published, it's permanent. If a civilization-killing virus hits, the lucky
immune survivors are not going to be looking for a kindle but for books to
rebuild their civilization on. As much as I hate government interference in the
free market, maybe there should be a law that all books need to have at least
one paper copy printed, just in case.
It will be interesting to see what happens to physical, paper books in the
future. Will they become as anachronistic as the buggy whip? Or will people
still want them? It's not very impressive to hold up an electronic gadget and
say "I've read all these books" but point to a book case stuffed with paperbacks
and hard covers and say, "I've read all those books" is much more impressive.
That is, if reading impresses anyone in the future.
I 100% agree with you that one printed copy should be made for each book. My book shelves reveal my life: my likes, my interests,my character, and my loves.
(Joanne Hicks 9:18pm April 20, 2013)
I think it's sad that books in paper form are starting to fall by the wayside. To me, there's nothing like holding a "real" book in your hand, and flipping the pages. I've never held a Kindle, or any other electronic device in my hands, and tried to read a book that way. For me, a device such as that would be very inconvenient. I'm also an avid knitter and crocheter, and would much prefer to have my patterns in a book or magazine, as opposed to an electronic device. That way if there's any notes I'd like to add, I can write them write on my copy for future reference. As for reading in general, I've been reading since the age of 3. I won't tell you my age now, but it's a shame that the kids now are lulled by all the electronic gadgetry, as well as video games, which were things that I wasn't exposed to as a child. We played outside, and learned to use our brains to play games. We also "read" a lot of books in our spare time, since our parents and teachers instilled a love of reading in us. Even cursive writing is a lost art nowadays. It's a sad world when you listen to them, or even read something that the kids have written. It's bad penmanship, and bad spelling. I do agree with you, but as you can see, there's a little bit more to the equation.
(Peggy Roberson 10:10pm April 20, 2013)
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