International Day of the Book
Let’s not wait for the official event to come along: go buy a book.
Most of the people who drop by this blog on a regular basis are professed booklovers, authors, aspiring authors, and people associated with the book business, so it shouldn’t be too hard to persuade you to declare an “unofficial” book day and go buy a book…. Should it?
I know a lot of people are worried about the economy. Me too. I’m worried that editors will be facing layoffs in the new year. I’m worried that more independent bookstores won’t be able to weather the tough economic times and close their doors forever.
And I’m worried that some authors with tremendous talent won’t get new book deals as publishers regroup and scale back.
Why should any of us care? This is the exact economic climate that will make publishers even less likely to take a chance on new and innovative material. The publishing community risks stagnation, as the books published are limited to bestsellers and already well-established authors.
And if we risk stagnation, we risk being irrelevant.
I know when people are stressed they often turn to entertainment for distraction. Look at the revenue for recent movie releases - $67.53M for Quantum of Solace, $116.91M for Madagascar 2. All that money, for two hours of entertainment, while the average reader spends 6-10 hours reading a book. It costs less for a paperback, and you get more hours of entertainment! And you have the book to read again, pass on to a friend, get signed by your favourite author.
So buy a book. Not only will it help our industry weather the current economic slump, but it’ll feed your mind with hours well spent between the pages of a great story. And not only am I challenging you to actually buy a book, I’m challenging you to send in a photo or the name of the book you buy. I’ll post everything I get to my e-mail address (sandra @ sandraruttan . com ) the first week of December.
Some books I recommend:
What are you doing still sitting in front of your computer? GO BUY A BOOK! Buy one for everyone on your Christmas shopping list.
Don’t make me hypnotize you…
November 21st, 2008 at 1:54 pm
That’s our gift of choice this year.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:08 pm
For me to hypnotize you?
Seriously, that’s what I want too. Because you can never have enough books.
November 21st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
I volunteer to be hypnotized. Skip the “dance like a chicken” part and go straight to “make more efficient use of your writing time.” Please.
November 21st, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Too funny Stephen! (Says she who’s blogging instead of adding to the ms word count…)
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:42 am
An advertising guy explained this to me once, his take on why people like TV and movies better than books. “You have to DO the book,” he said. “that is, actively read and turn the pages. TV does YOU. All you have to do is sit there.”
What a world, what a world.
November 23rd, 2008 at 4:03 am
Great idea Sandra. Also helps me justify avoiding writing a few pages today, since I have to buy a book for the good of the industry.
I write twice as much tomorrow…promise.
December 1st, 2008 at 10:38 am
[...] meanwhile . . . many bloggers are doing their bit for the industry with a “buy books for Christmas” meme. And while many bloggers are [...]