Reading

I don't think there's anyone in the world who, at this point, would be surprised to hear that people are reading books less and less. I don't know how true that is, or if it's just something people like to say to scare each other about future generations, and I've never looked into any of the statistics that may be out there about it. But as someone who wants to make a living and a future out of writing, it  is an absolutely terrifying thought. You can already write the most amazing story in the world, and if you don't tell anybody about it, then it won't do you any good. But if people aren't reading, then you can write the most amazing story ever told by mankind, tell the entire world of its existence, and it won't do you any good because no one will care.

I won't pretend to have some mystical answer as to how to get people to read more. Hell, I don't read as much as I know I should, and I'm the one trying to make a living out of it. There is a vast collection today of visual medias, that make us see fantastical worlds and and incredible powers and wonders that we in the real world can hardly dream of. And every day, these visual medias become better, more advanced, and more enticing. Its easy to set aside a textual media that leaves all the things you see in your imagination, but what some people may not remember is that all of the visual stories we see had to start off as exactly that - something someone imagined and wrote down.

I say these things, and a large number of people say these things, and yet there are still incredible famous authors who come out all the time. We still consider people who make it onto the New York Times bestseller list to be making incredible achievements, and we still know that those authors who hit the top of the charts are more than making a living off of their writings. So that must mean that not only is there someone out there who is still reading, but there are a large number of people who are doing that. Especially when you consider that books, especially novels, are not particularly expensive. Most book out there are less than twenty dollars, which is only just over two hours of minimum wage work, as opposed to say a video game that you might get similar time out of, but would cost three times as much money.

So with all of that being said, there must be people out there somewhere who are still reading. So perhaps the question is whether or not they are reading books. There are all kinds of ways to digitally acquire and read books, and more of them are coming out all the time. Kindles, phones, computers, you can read pretty much anywhere now a days. And I have nothing against people who do like to read that way. I totally get the appeal. But me? I still like to have a good old fashioned book in my hands. I like the feel of the paper between my fingers, the varying weight in my hands going from book to book. In some ways, I even enjoy seeing and feeling the curves and folds of a well loved and aged book. As long, of course, as it is not damaged.

I wouldn't be in the least surprised if physical books are what's really in decline. And the way the world is headed, I can't particularly blame anyone for that happening. But I do hope that as we move forward, physical books do not simply disappear. Even if they become an old fashioned, hipster kind of thing, like vinyl records are today, as long as they continue to exist in some form, and some people may even choose to produce them in that way, I will be happy.