Books are bad now, too?
Again, what?
I mean, books suck. Most books are dopier than television or movies or even advertising (many books tend to be just collateral promotions or the lesser offspring of dopey television, movies, and advertising). Even if there are precious exceptions, the overwhelming number of big-money, industry-sustaining books are incontrovertibly dum-dum things. More cynical, more pandering than any other entertainment product. Calling them books may be a substantial part of the problem with the book business—it provides undeserved and unfair dignity (perhaps there should be a way to certify something as an actual book). Working at a magazine where every day random books come flying in by the bushel (along with the calls from sluggish book publicists), you get a sense of the magnitude of the wasteland. Books may be the true lowest-common-denominator medium.
Seriously, this Michael Wolff guy bothers me. It's like a book killed his father or something and he's out for revenge.
It's one thing to criticize certain political moves in the book industry. Has it been artifically ballooned by big box chain stores such as Barnes & Noble? Yeah, probably. Are the best sellers the best books? Likely not. Are the books getting the most marketing dollars the ones that deserve the most marketing? Again, I would doubt it. But that's the business we're in. Absolutely none of that means that there aren't a thousand incredible novels in every store, and there aren't a thousand more great ones coming out every year. Maybe if there were only a couple hundred books a year, guys like Michael Wolff wouldn't decry that all books are terrible. But there are on average 300,000 a year, which means book readers have to do a little bit of work to find what they like. But much like the music industry, choice is always a good thing, and having the feeding trough taken away means that some people will say there isn't anything good to chew on anymore.
Don't listen to this guy. He's an old idiot, clamouring for the days when fewer choices meant easier decisions.
1 Comment
Reader Comments (1)
I couldn't agree with you more.
"It's like a book killed his father or something and he's out for revenge. "
I love that there are books for every mood, on every subject, at every reading level, from highly intellectual to complete fluff. It means I am free to match my interest or need at that time. If I want something challenging one week, and something purely fun the next, I can get it and stay engaged in THE most important medium out there.
I always encourage people who don't normally read to pick up a book that appeals to them because there is value in it. On the flipside, I have never pushed for someone who normally doesn't watch television to put on the tv for a few hours.
"many books tend to be just collateral promotions or the lesser offspring of dopey television, movies, and advertising"
If I'm not mistaken, most movies come from books, not the other way around.