We’re told these are hard times and it’s easy to believe it.
So, we’re contemplating a more frugal Christmas than usual. Good news: books are cheaper than most of the gifts people flock to the stores to buy.
Author Joshua Henkin (Matrimony) notes in a guest post in today’s Emerging Writers Network blog that with book sales down 40%, publisher layoffs being announced, and more independent bookstores closing that “what’s at stake is the future of books, and of reading culture.”
Sure, he says, Rowling, Meyer and other authors will continue to publish, but what does the future hold for other authors?
Long term, I’m not worried about the industry, for I think publishers will see that their old business models have become wasteful and ineffective. That will change. So, too, the way we read books. There will be less paper and more Kindle. This will take time.
For now, Henkin suggests that “You really can make a difference. A typical paperback novel costs less than fifteen dollars, far cheaper than a necklace or a sweater or dinner at a nice restaurant.”
Authors Guild President Roy Blount, suggests we should buy books now and stockpile them for birthdays throughout the year and even pick up children’s books for friends who look like “they may eventually give birth.”
If you need ideas, take a look at the Books for the Holidays site. And then, if you’re children are still young enough, read them some fresh bedtime stories. If they’ve left the nest, read a story to yourself rather than watching TV or checking the feed on Twitter before you turn in for the night.
Malcolm's Round Table 
Not just in these hard times, people’s appreciation for books has decreased in recent years. It’s a sad trend.
That’s for sure. I don’t know whether they way literature is taught in schools takes all the joy out of reading or if people are being lured away by TV, texting and Twitter.
Thanks for the comment.
Malcolm
I always give books for Christmas. Not for frugallity, but because I think that the people I send gifts to need a good read, rather than the latest hit video game, or movie.
Cheers,
Trevas
I give a lot of books for Christmas, too, eBookGuru. And, I sure to get a lot of them. People know I’ve always got a long wish list and it’s easier to get me a book than to worry about what size shirt I wear. 🙂
Thanks for the visit.
Malcolm
Books really are great gifts although we don’t always think about it. This year we did give books as presents, and special books at that. Like you, I always appreciate receiving a good book!
Books last for a long time, Montucky, so those gifts just keep on giving. When I was young, people used to inscribe the books they gave to people. I kind of liked that because then, years later, it was a reminder of who gave it to you and when.
Malcolm
I always get books for all the young cousins. I buy them throughout the year and do also keep some on hand for birthdays too. this year though, I did not get books for the teens….I know I should have! I do often get books for my immediate family because I know they love them. I sometimes cringe when I get books at the resale shops and I see that the inside has been inscribed to someone, it makes me a little sad that they did not realize and/or appreciate the treasure they were getting!
btw, not sure if I ever told you this little story. there was an old book I had when I was young. don’t really know exactly what happened to it or how it came about, but my mom found it at a garage sale some time later and of course, had to buy it back!! 🙂
Great story, Silken. Do you still have the book? One of my favorite books when I was young was “The Flamingo Feather.” It’s a very old one, and you can find it online now. I don’t know whether one of my brothers ended up with it or whether its in a box in the garage.
I don’t like the re-sale shop thing either unless the book is ancient, and then I like to pretend the person had it their entire life.
Malcolm