The Story of Books

           Recently in class, we discussed the decline of books as one of our dominant forms of entertainment. As a result, bookstores like Barnes & Noble have had to downsize, and it has become increasingly more challenging for publishers to recover the funds spent on publishing literature.  The risk is now outweighing the reward, and more authors are turning to less expensive publishing methods like Amazon. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine and I are considering using Amazon to publish our book. Are there any books though that have at least slowed this downward spiral of poor sales and quick demise? I can think of at least a few books in the past decade that have sold extremely well and even received film adaptations: the Harry Potter series, the Fifty Shades of Grey series, and teen novels like Twilight and The Hunger Games. What sets these books apart and allows them to thrive while others barely survive? They’re aimed at younger demographics and are typically centered on some forbidden romance (vampire and mortal, love triangles, etc.). Is this the secret formula to create a successful book? Are magical, romantic billionaire vampires with chiseled abs the key to saving the print industry? When the film adaptation hits theaters, I’ve noticed that the viewers are typically teenage girls and middle-aged women.  Another issue that has peaked my curiosity is whether or not film adaptations hurt or help a book. On the one hand, a film definitely brings the story to a larger audience perhaps prompting more people to read the book. On the contrary, seeing the film might lead some people to avoid the book entirely, as they now have the story presented in a two-hour film as opposed to a 300-page novel. Ultimately, and sadly, the story of the hardbound book is nearing its conclusion. As Dr. Williams pointed out, it’s likely hardbound books will become specialty items, only printed when on order is placed. In the meantime, we will move on to other mediums of entertainment, and the books we do read will be on Nooks and Kindles.