Where are we today? Are we even appreciated anymore? Do people even value books? I mean, really, the average reader will go and read a book, maybe learn a lesson if they really get into it, and then let it rot on a bookshelf. People just take us for granted.
Yesterday, I saw a woman sitting opposite a fence in front of a freeway, totally engrossed in a book. People still read and a good book can take you away and drown anything out.
I think that today writers are wanted and needed more than ever. I know that I read book after book and I do appreciate them and will most likely read many of them again. I believe that in a world with so much media real poets and writers are need to relate the world to others in a non-electronic way. I do however think that genuinely good authors, my favorites being Cormac McCarthy, Anne-Marie MacDonald and Haruki Murakami, are ignored in favor of those whom write popular series.
just as same the plaints we make re 'our youth' of today getting out of hand, being down on the future, et al., were being made way back in plato's day, which he dwelt on at some length in his writings, so too, are the plaints re writers and our 'pitiful state of affairs' re 'changing times' and a dubious future... which only proves that good old french axiom, "Plus ça change, plus reste la même chose."
Video is quickly taking over. People don't need to write in order to express themselves anymore. There are hundreds of thousands of videos uploaded to places like YT every day, and with the large number of consumer devices that keep coming out that can handle video, it's never been easier for almost anybody to make videos. The video format is more easily adapted for things like magazine articles and newspaper stories than for books, but it also reaches a lot more people who either don't like to read books or don't have time. It doesn't bother me. Things change.
Really, the same could be said about any profession. We live a fast-moving world of disposable things that can easily be digested and regurgitated. But look at it this way. Even if others are more "appreciated" for what they do, at least you enjoy the hell out of what you're doing. And the rest of the world slaves over desks for this "appreciation." They've got a more steady paycheck, but can that really replace loving what you do? /sappy, cliched post
I don't know if there are more or less writers today than in the past. I think that its cyclical. Some people these days have more free time, others less. However I think that writers, artists in general are valued more than ever. We are facing some of the tuffest challenges in human history, the feelings revolving around these issues need to be expressed through some medium either in a book, movie or some other form. It is vitally important to create a love through art that will break down walls.
I think the literacy levels of the massed public is going down, but the need for intelligent writing is still there by the literate.
I think writers are where they want to be. Just like good people are where they want to be. You do good, you write, because it's the way you want to be. It's not more difficult than it was a hundred years ago. It's just different now than it was before. I think it's useless to think it's bad that the world is changing. It's good to think how to change it for the better, how to affect the change. Do your part. Write good books. Tell people around you how wonderful words are. Appreciate people who read. Think positively. Start positive threads. Life is full of simple choices.
I have books rotting in my cupboard. I don't think i fully understand your point though. Are you trying to say that people should re-read their books? If you are, why? I don't have anything against people who read and reread books, but i just can't enjoy rereading a novel (short stories/poetry i can). I don't rush through the plot on my first reading, i take in everything, i enjoy every image and the sound of every word and i'll often drift off to contemplate (relevent) things in my head. Rereading the book would just degrade the quality of the images for me, it would have less impact on me the second time through, and would degrade my memories of the book (and the themes/issues/imagery within the book). So, are you trying to tell me that i should be ashamed for not rereading a book twice? Should i be ashamed if I don't delve into public discussions about the books i've read? Should i be ashamed if i like to enjoy the imagery and the words that make the novel, over any themes or 'lessons to be learned'? No. Literature should remain an artform, people should be able to consume this art in anyway they want to -if they want to at all- and you shouldn't place value judgements on how they do this. If you want to show your opinion, your emotions, make a pretty picture or tell a story; then do it. Treat your writing as an end and not as a means to an end. Don't write because you want to be a revered author, write because you love words: then this whole issue of declining audiences will vanish. PS It's 3.30AM, so just ignore any spelling errors or sentences which don't make sense; i'm tired.
Now thats not fair, "good" is completely dependent on the perception of the individual. What may be good to you may not be to another. Popular authors are still good, they're just good to more people than your personal preferences. Also, ya, writers are still appreciated, I love a Stephen King novel, I love going to the book store, and I know a lot of people who read for enjoyment. Writers aren't less appreciated, but nowadays reading is more a private thing because, well, people like television and the movies, and since those are social activities people are seen doing things like that more often, so the assumption that they have overtaken writing is pretty reasonable, if not untrue..
Literature isn't appreciated like it was in the past, but I understand why. Technology has changed things. Most people opt for watching something rather than reading something. I guess it's understandable. But you shouldn't fixate on it so much. There will still continue to be writers. These people will keep on writing, because it's clearly what they enjoy doing most. Some people sitting in front of the tube instead of reading a book isn't going to stop those writers whose passion it really, genuinely is to write.
I don't see the fuss really. Literature is just as appreciated now, as it was years ago. It is just our world has a higher population now, than it did years ago and so the percentage of people appreciatng literature may have possibly dropped, but the love for literature IS still as evident as it was years ago. If literature was not as appreciated as it is now, then people would not open up as many books stores as they do. We would not study literature as thourough as we do now. It is like any form of art, not everyone in the world will appreciate it. We are all different and all have different likes and dislikes. I don't like fantasy and romance, but I absolutely love horror, and I don't mind thrillers. I am rather fussy with what I do read. But this is the same for many people. We like certain genres, and generally stick to those genres. The love and passion for literature has not vanished, or dimished deeply. It is just the population has grown and there is a vaster variety of people with different interests. We can't all love reading. It would be boring if all of us did. But, we all do appreciate many different forms of art.
I think people who truly want to learn a lesson, keep their mind sharp, and be entertained at the same time, will continue to read. Those who lack the amount of mental capacity or energy to create a vivid mental image in their head are the kind to depend on large amounts of television for their intellectual stimulation and entertainment. I think it's sad that books aren't read enough now a days and that television performers with no talent, as well as those who become famous just for BEING on TV, earn more money and credit than the ones who truly deserve it-writers.
I agree with most of the replies here, writers/reading certainly is not dead, and will most likely continue to be a timeless treasure. It's the same thing they tried to pull with the kinetoscope and television, etc. That the world would then turn their attentions to the revolutionary new technology of television and motion pictures and it would be the end of reading/writing literature. As easy as it is to see their point, reading/writing has still remained as large a medium as it has been and ever was. It's mostly subjectivity, some will read, some won't enjoy it as much as others. Every book will mostly have the author's heart behind it, but there will still be those who have them 'rotting' somewhere, and those that give it acclaim. Sucks but, the world will always be that way.
