Do people still read these days? Do people even have the time to read? Are books being phased out by the Internet?
Answers: Yes, probably no, and I hope to hell not.
People do still read these days, but what are they perusing? Magazines still continue to be very popular, with hundreds starting up and going defunct every year. Books seem to be doing okay, though conversations would seem to indicate that fewer people are reading books.
Perhaps it’s our busy society that’s causing the downfall of book reading. People like to have their information in small chunks, and magazines supply this. Magazines are also visual, and people love pretty pictures. But I think this is a shame.
I’ve always been an avid book reader, though I’ve backed off a little bit since my two Hardy Boys a day habit back in the sixth grade. To me, books have always appealed because they completely submerge me in a different place, culture, and/or even time. Books have more depth to them than an article in a magazine and provide me with more of the background information I’m seeking.
But books have their downsides too. Some are long, some are boring, some are badly written, many are all three. They’re also damn expensive to buy.
I love the actions of going into a bookstore and browsing the shelves. The smells, the inventively designed covers, and the “Ah ha!” moment of discovering a book I’ve long heard about but never read, all contribute to my love of the bookstore.
Love to hear what the rest of y’all think about books. Love ’em, hate ’em, indifferent? Why?
The Interchangeable Brain 
I had an instructor tell me she recently bought an online novel. Not a book, but a novel that was published online only and not available in traditional book format with a spine, cover, etc. She was happy because the online novel was very, very cheap. She bought the online novel and downloaded it to her computer. First she tried reading it on her screen but it strained her eyes. So she printed it on her home printer. Wads and wads of 8×11 paper–it must have looked research paper. She told me online novels are cheap, but nothing can replace the cozy presence of a good old-fasioned bound novel book.
As much as I love magazines, I can barely retain any serious information from reading them. And I feel they are disposable. Books – if well-written – I can always remember even the most minute detail and I will keep and lug around with me, wherever I may move to.
Hmm… I think the disposability of magazines is debatable. There is a lot of good writing that goes on in magazines, but also much that is crap. I think it really depends on which magazine you’re reading. If the magazine is mainly about fashion, sports, music, or some other aspect of pop culture, then I agree that it’s disposable – it has no shelf life. But if it’s a magazine like Vanity Fair, Vogue, or Esquire (to name big ones), then it does contain good information and excellent writing.
You can always lug magazines around too.
But why am I arguing. I like books more. =)