I love to read, always have. I have always considered my love of reading as the greatest gift I have ever gotten and, of course, I have read countless numbers of books in my life to date and I plan on pursuing this passion for the rest of my life.
However, I have had some concerns in the last few years about books and the publishing world in general.
Firstly, I am firmly on the side of those who DESPISE ebooks and ereaders of ALL KINDS. Be it Kindle, Kobo, IPads - I don't care. If you have to plug it in or power it up and charge it, in order to read it, then I don't want it. NOTHING beats the feel and smell of a physical book and this will never change for me.
Unfortunately, I am seeing more and more authors and publishing houses "going to the dark side" with ebooks. While I can see that the industry is trending in this manner, it does not mean that I have to like it. Can you imagine a used bookstore loaded with "virtual books" - I don't even want to think about it.
Secondly, over the course of the last 3 years or so, I have seen a very disturbing trend in "book genres" - mainly books on dystopia and/or dead things that like to come back to life. I just don't get it! what is the fascination with reading about vampires, werewolves, zombies and people who die but don't stay that way? and what is up with all this dystopia? These books, for the most part, are so depressing.
I guess what I have an issue with is not so much the fact that these books exist, but rather that there are sooooo many of them - it seems as though so many authors are jumping on the bandwagon, especially in YA. The result? visiting the bookstore with the hope of finding something OTHER than these types of books to read is getting to be a futile thing.
I can't tell you how mad I get when I am desperately looking for a new book to read, only to discover that there are tons and tons of new releases geared towards zombies and dystopia and almost nothing else!!!
What about the rest of us???????
I know that many readers (mainly those who enjoy these genres) will vehemently disagree with me - but what can I say? I don't like zombies!!!!!!!!
So, dear publishers AND authors, please give us more choices, pretty please.
4 comments:
Loved your post!
I love my ereader and Ipad. I tend to buy ebooks of books I own. The result is my books stay like new. I will never stop buying actual books, but I love the convenience of ebooks. I wish publishers would offer a free ebook when buying the actual book. That would be my dream. Similar to a digital copy when buying a movie.
I certainly do see a trend in books. I like my occasional dystopian novel, but it is really refreshing to find a new book. I'm not really into paranormal books.
I hate spinoff novels. That was driving me crazy for awhile. Pride and Prejudice everywhere!
I love mine, too...I adore reading on my Kindle and my iPAD...
Every one of us has our own strong feeling about this...that is what makes the literary world go round.
I'm not a fan of e-books either. I think the trend in books will change in a year or two - they'll get onto something else.
I am not personally a fan of ereaders or for that matter dystopia, but I do want people, particularly young people, to read, read, read. So how or what is being read is less of an issue for me.
I do agree that there is nothing like that cracking noise you hear when you open a new book and the sense of anticipation that accompanies it. The smell and familiarity of an old book can reignite memories once forgotten.
Most importantly - just read!
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