Right now it's hot news to report losses. And the fever is in breaking down those industries that are in rapid decline. Unfortunately, the publishing industry fits that bill. There have been reports of an industry wide decline in book sales of 40%, and top publishing houses have all but stopped taking any new submissions. (Right, like they were good at taking new submissions before - but I digress.) But even with the publishing industry seemingly in peril, books (contrary to misguided belief) will always thrive.
Books hold an intrinsic value that cannot be vanished away by any new market trend or new hip technology. Books engage individuals in a manner that can never be duplicated. Reading is a great activity in any manifestation: blogs, newspapers, advertisements, photo captions, emails, you name it. However, there is something about reading a book that is simply unmatched. Books are what I call our very own physical cinema. In our hands or on a surface in front us, books present us with the opportunity to exercise both the visual and intellectual scopes of our imagination. Moreover, books allow us to develop a steady and consistent approach to learning, which in turn helps us to develop a more powerful and disciplined method for processing useful information.
Books also offers admission into the world of book readers. As a book reader, one naturally develops a sense of self-confidence that could only be acquired from the self-realization of belonging to one of the world's most prominent and prestigious groups.
Thus, when I think about the aforementioned intrinsic value that books hold, it's inconceivable to me that the fall (or better yet the restructuring) of the publishing industry can stop people from reading actual books. Books are simply too valuable, and the fact that many publishing "experts" are rapidly writing them off, says more about the convoluted and woefully misguided publishing industry than it does about most people's desire to read books.
-Amir Said
There is something about reading a book, that just feels magical. That can't be replace. Thank you for the post, I enjoyed reading it :-)
Giovanna Garcia
Posted by: Giovanna Garcia | December 22, 2008 at 02:43 AM