Last week I took a light-hearted look at… well, at men in shorts… so this week I thought I should take a serious look at the current state of the book market. Turns out it’s looking every bit as ugly as Tony Blair in his floral shorts.
A leading chain of bookstores is closing five branches, including a flagship store in central London. Not so long ago bookshop chains were the bullies in the playground, chasing independents off the swings and roundabouts. Now the chains are being pushed aside by supermarkets and online suppliers, themselves under threat from a new gang on the block - eBooks.
What’s wrong with eBooks? In a word: quality. eBooks threaten to make publication accessible to everyone. I wouldn’t claim that all self-published books are inferior, or that traditionally published books are necessarily good. Far from it. But experienced publishers put their reputation and their money on the line when they publish a book. They demand quality, whether literary or commercial, and they pay professionals to hone the product.
It’s no secret that people are queuing up to be published. Literary agents receive as many as 50 manuscripts every day. Remove the constraints imposed by publishers and you fling open the floodgates. As increasing numbers of writers produce eBooks, paradoxically fewer people will read them. Readers will be overwhelmed with choice, much of it third rate and poorly produced.
And there is a further worrying aspect to our growing dependency on technology. In 1909 EM Forster wrote a short story. Set in the (then) future, he posits a world where man has become so dependent on technology that he has become virtually paralysed. People lie in beds, their limbs withered and useless, as a vast machine tends to their every need. The title of the story is: The Machine Stops.
So let’s support real books – they are an endangered species, and, if we’re not careful, we could be next.
(I did warn you my post this week was going to be serious. I’ll be cheerful next week.)
Leigh Russell
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I much prefer paperback books to ebooks and can't imagine ever changing.
ReplyDeleteI agree, there's nothing quite like holding a book in your hands and turning the pages, lets make sure we all support books in the format they are meant to be read in!
ReplyDeleteDebs - Thank you very much for commenting here - especially as you are a reader who supports real books. To misquote Bruce Forsyth... 'Keep reading' ! Please keep in touch.
ReplyDeleteI agree, J Lou. Thank you very much for your comment. Maybe we should start a Real Books Campaign, like the Real Ale Campaign - perhaps we could combine the two?
ReplyDeleteHi Leigh
ReplyDeleteCount me in! Sounds like a great idea. I'll leave the details to you.
I've yet to read a full ebook, but I fear the day is coming where that will be the only venue for many books.
ReplyDeleteDon't say that, Travis!
ReplyDeleteI prefer a real book to read as it's easier on my eyes. After looking at a computer screen seven hours, my eyes burn: not something I have to endure when reading a book in a comfortable chair.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear from you, Barbara, and you make a very good point.
ReplyDeleteYou can't 'Sniff' an ebook and nothing can replicate that new book smell.
ReplyDeleteDitto for old books!
The book fights back!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Sleepy, I just visited your blog. Very amusing. Talking of which, have you seen the photo on my blog of Cut Short being read in a souk in Istanbul? My book is better travelled than I am!
ReplyDeleteCracking!
ReplyDeleteI'll register my copy with www.bookcrossing.com and think of somewhere to "release" it.
I can track it then and see how far around the world it gets!
www.bookcrossing.com - not sure I know that one. I'm off now to check it out.
ReplyDelete