My first thought was that reading and books haven’t changed that much
for ME since childhood, but then I realized that when I was growing up the
“internet” did not really exist. This
makes me think about a couple of things: 1) My reading choices were almost
entirely dependent on what could be physically found on the shelf at my library. Now many of my reading choices come from a
Wikipedia article about the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction with hyperlinks to
innumerable topics. 2) I never got into
comics as a kid, but what if I could have downloaded them from Hoopla like I
can now? I’ve never been sure why comics
have never garnered my interest (I like Marvel movies quite a lot …), but then
how much of my interest in anything is based on simple accessibility?
As for the second question, I don’t think we will be reading less in
the future (compared to the whole of human history and not just the “peak” of
the “century of the book” (Le Guin, 2008)); reading is still a learned activity
that in many ways is “power itself” (Le Guin, 2008). The amount of detail a text is capable of,
the power it invests the reader with by which they participate in the act of
creation, the social nature of the “bestseller” phenomenon (books Le Guin says
that readers want because “everybody is reading” them, though not “finishing,” “so
(they) can talk about them”), and the “collaboration” with the author that
reading engenders are all aspects that guarantee and affirm the power of
reading as an experience (Le Guin, 2008).
However, the physical book seems destined to change. Though the physical book is an enduring
technology with an incredible history that brings a tactile energy to an
intellectual exercise that is and will continue to be somewhat indispensable
for many, the enormous amount of resources it actually takes to produce a
physical book make the lower overhead, ease of access, and ease of
storage/transportation of the digital book kind of a no-brainer
replacement. Really, the most
interesting part of all of this is what publishing is going to look like. One of the biggest services that traditional
publishing has probably provided is the “vetting” of what constitutes our
literature. Because the production of
physical books is expensive only the “best” make it by the gatekeepers, but in
an age when I can Kickstarter my own novel and make a million digital copies I
don’t really need to worry about those gatekeepers. But it is exactly this “gatekeeping’ service
that I think will keep traditional publishers alive. There are simply going to be too many ebooks
for the regular reader to keep up with and the publishing industry, if they can
figure out how to get paid for their services, is positioned to give us a map
to the “best” work, though I know it will certainly not be the only map out
there.
Work Cited:
Le Guin, U. K. (2008). Staying awake: notes on the alleged decline of
reading. Harper's Magazine, 316(1893).
Dear Craig,
ReplyDeleteIt’s cool to hear that you appreciate Marvel films. I occasionally watch Marvel films, so I understand why certain individuals become excited about them. Also, the Marvel films apparently meet or exceed expectations in most cases, so the great rate of satisfying the expectations of ordinary individuals attracts a great number of viewers. Also, I actually did exhibit an interest in comics, since I read my brother’s collection of Donald Duck or Scrooge McDuck comic books. However, I never really decided to visit a comic book store and purchase a comic book on my own.
I also agree that reading is a powerful experience, and the process of reading will not change in the future. In relation to the internet, written text has been altered to fit the format of electronic text. So, the formats that the process of reading utilizes will merely change as time passes.
Your theory about gatekeepers allowing traditional publishers to function in the future also sounds quite interesting. However, I believe that existence of gatekeepers are not the only reason why traditional publishers will be alive in the future. Older age groups, such as individuals in their forties or nineties, will be a key reason why traditional publishers will still be around in the future. Due to the influence of individual publishers on internet websites and large book distributors, such as Barnes & Noble, traditional publishers will be reliant on certain demographics that have supported them in the past. So, traditional publishers will remain around in the future for at least a couple of reasons.
Good point. There are lots of members of even younger generations that are quite committed to the physical book and everyone seems to be living longer these days let alone in the future. Traditional publishing probably has a long road of support left ahead of it.
ReplyDeleteYou brought up a good point about accessibility that I hadn't really focused on or thought about. I'd have likely started reading comics and graphic novels at a younger age if they'd been available at my library, but they weren't. They are now, but I still have to go to the main branch if I want more than one or two different titles at a time. It does make one ponder what we'd actually be interested in if we had more accessibility to different formats and genres.
ReplyDeleteFull points!
ReplyDelete