Week 16 Prompt

First, how have reading and books changed since you were a child, for you specifically?

I was born in 1966. We were fortunate to have a Carnegie library downtown.  My dad and mom both took turns taking us down to the library. During the summer months we were blessed with the book mobile.  It parked itself only two houses down from where we lived. Wow! What a treat to walk into a vehicle and be met with wall-to-wall books.  The librarian driving the bus always asked what kinds of books we liked and she made sure they were on the bus for us. 

The library downtown had a very nice magazine selection.  Dad, in particular, enjoyed reading through those magazines while we found books to check out.

I had a small shelf in my room for books. I did not own many and they were only paperbacks.  When we were on trips Dad would usually spring for us to get some paperbacks to read when we took a long driving vacation to the relatives.  There were no TV, cell phones, movies, etc.  It was either fight with the sibling, count the fence posts, play “I spy with my little eye,” or read. Reading was the quietist of the choices and worth the money. 

There was no general bookshelf of books on display in our home. Books came from the library.  The one exception occurred when I was 9-10.  Mom and Dad invested in a multivolume Encyclopedia.  I don’t know what publisher, but it was a big deal that we had it. Dad and Mom also invested in the accompanying bookshelf.  The encyclopedia was a big deal on our street.  Several of my peers borrowed volumes. Their mom called my mom and then sent the child over to get the desired volume.

I remember at the dinner table we were discussing a book or author when I was young.  My Dad called the library to see if the book was at the library or not.  The librarian had to call back because she had to go to the card catalogue.  She had a corded phone and it wouldn’t reach.

Since I was a child, books are still books.  What has changed is that I married a woman who likes to read and has her favorites.  Bookshelves cover many of the walls in our residence. I also entered into a vocation that makes use of books and requires a specialized library.  When I entered the field in 1994, email and the Internet were barely used in my circles. So we were encouraged by our professors to invest in books in order to have a strong working library wherever we went.

 Since that time, I still read books the old fashioned way.  I still purchase them as well as borrow them from the library.  What is different though is that I now get on line to see if the library has a book I want and I know which branch it is currently located in.  I haven’t called the library about a book in years.  Also, I used to have to order books through a store.  Now, I order books myself through Amazon or various used book dealers via the Internet. And, I have a Kindle.  If I really want to read something RIGHT NOW I can borrow it through the library electronically without going there or get it from Amazon.com. The Kindle has also been useful as a space saver. Some of the classics, I have put on Kindle in order to make room on the shelves for other books.

These days, I read books on paper, Kindle, phone, tablet, and computer.  When I was a child I read primarily mysteries and westerns.  Now, my reading encompasses many different kinds of fiction as well non-fiction.  The only non-fiction that I have never really gotten into is manuals.  I only read these when I have to and usually after my best guess did not work out so well.

Second, talk a little about what you see in the future for reading, books, or publishing - say 20 years from now. Will we read more or less, will our reading become more interactive? What will happen to traditional publishing?

Years ago, when personal computers were first becoming affordable and people were buying them; the prediction was announced that our world would soon be paperless. Well, that hasn’t happened.  Paper is still very much in use.  But, so is the electronic medium.  I don’t think paper will ever truly go away.  Paper is necessary for some functions. Nor, will some version of the personal computer ever go away.  Computers are already an integral part of nearly every aspect of our life.  I don’t see that changing either.

In the future, I see a similar relationship between books and electronic medium.  Physical books with a cover and paper with ink on it are going to be around for the foreseeable future. So are electronic books.  Some kinds of information will store better and read better in electronic format.  While other forms of information will be better suited to a codex format.

Twenty or more years from now, librarians will still be organizing both paper and electronic books.  Those that want a good story will read them. Those who want to read will read.  Those who are drawn to images (pun intended) will use images.  What will be different though is the cost of things via the Internet. In the last five years, we have seen a change in the amount of stuff we can get for free via the Internet.  Newspapers and magazines want those accessing their information on line to pay for the access.  

Diane Wachtell explains the process of developing ideas into really great stories.  It takes a team of people.  The team costs money.  Right now anyone can publish on the Internet. And there is a lot to read for free. The quality of this literally depends on who is doing the writing.   But, if we want consistently great stories, whether fiction or non-fiction, that is going to come from a team effort.  Those salaries have to be paid.  I suspect that at some point the cost of the electronic book is going to increase in order to pay for those salaries. This will especially be true if the expectation develops that first there will be an electronic book, then, if it’s worth the expense and work, there will be a codex. 

I suspect that in 20 or more years, we are going to have a variety of publishing houses: A few big but many small. The smaller ones will specialize in particular genres and/or particular modes of medium.  There will also be many more who are self-publishing electronically.

Ursula K. Le Guin argues that reading will not decline anymore than it already has declined since the end of the golden century of reading from 1850-1950. I suspect that as storytellers learn to tell stories using a mixture of digital text, still and motion images, and audio, there is going to be a steady percentage of people who need and demand to read, just read, without visual or auditory assistance.   There will also be a steady percentage of people who want to keep a favorite story for a lifetime to read it over and over again.  Many of these folks will be drawn to, and will need, a permanent codex in which to return to again and again.