Are Publishers, to Blame For The Decline Of Books?

[OtterBooks]

I'll personally take the blame for the decline of books if we change this subject to electric eels. I mean really, how do those things exist?

[witeowl]

Originally Posted by rhadin

If I have to blame someone for the decline in the popularity of reading, my first choice for that honor would be uninspiring teachers.

You're entitled to your opinion. I, on the other hand, blame parents who aren't readers (which really is pointing the finger at a societal shift in general). It's a quite simple pattern I've seen: if there are readers at home, the child is more likely to be a reader; if there are no readers at home, the child sees reading as little more than a "chore" that people never do for fun or by choice. Though I have gotten a few students to change their views*, I definitely fail more often than I succeed when trying to turn students on to the joys of reading.

That said, I also blame teachers who slice up a book so much that there's no longer any joy in reading, those who assign reading logs that take out the pleasure of reading for fun, and those who don't give students time and guidance for self-selected reading. Readicide (by Gallagher) and The Reading Zone (Atwell) are great reads for teachers who want to help change the anti-reading tide.



* One of my best moments as a teacher was when a young lady told me she cried at the end of a book out of my classroom library. I hadn't read the book myself, so I had an expected reaction about the ending being sad. She interjected that the book wasn't sad; she cried from pride because that was the first chapter book she'd ever finished. She was in eighth grade.

[wyndslash]

i blame everyone xP

[AkumaTakeshi]

I blame the politics, normally they're always the culprit

But seriously, publishers and other line of works really need to learn to change as the times change.

They should take more new and original works and not the Twilight clone number 23, well I think there's even more than that.
And, as they start to e-publish, they need to learn that people wont pay the same or more than a paperback too, or at least I won't, that's just like being robbed.

For me the Indie authors are the ones doing the right things here, they bring us new, original and mind-blowing novels, they normally price them accordingly and still make lots of sales, maybe even more that they could if publishing paper books.

I browse much more on amazon than I did on a normal store, maybe I even already surpassed the total time wasted on bookstores. but e-publishing needs to evolve in some ways too, for example what's the point of region locking? Interned is global, everyone has access and they're just losing sales and money that could be on their pockets. That I know of it isn't there any additional charges to be available on all regions, but I could be wrong.

As for the teachers part I agree a bit, I started to develop my love for reading with Goosebumps when I was 8 or 9 (BTW I would totally buy all the ebooks versions if they all existed), until the end of 4th grade teachers never recommended to read nothing besides a text or two on a textbook and then after that, until the end of the 12th grade all they required us to read was classic literature from Portugal. I don't care if they were great writers, I didn't like the genres, the books bored me to death, if I hadn't read books that I loved before I would hate books altogether because of that. They really should encourage reading, not require and the student gets to choose the book, if they really want to know and read the classics like for example Hamlet they will because they're interested in it if not they read a Harry Potter or something else and they will still learn from that, they probably will start to read even more.

P.S.: Sorry for the big post, I have a tendency to write long things

[JSWolf]

I blame Apple. They are the ones that allowed the agency model to come into being.

[AkumaTakeshi]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I blame Apple. They are the ones that allowed the agency model to come into being.

That's odd, you're not blaming Amazon for once

[wyndslash]

i feel bad for teachers, since i am one, sort of

we get paid very badly

[AkumaTakeshi]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

i feel bad for teachers, since i am one, sort of

we get paid very badly

That I know, but in my opinion imposing outdated boring books to kids doesn't help a bit

For example for me Pride and Prejudice would bore me to death, it's like a soap opera, but maybe that's just my tastes. But I do think it's tiring to read "archaic" writing.

[jbcohen]

I blame book publishers and their concerted effort to raise book prices. Many years ago the average paper back was $8, a few years ago that average went to $10 now its somewhere around $15. Personally I refuse to pay more than $8 and most ocasions I will not pay mroe than $3, Amazon will sell a lot to me for that price and below.

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by AkumaTakeshi

That I know, but in my opinion imposing outdated boring books to kids doesn't help a bit

For example for me Pride and Prejudice would bore me to death, it's like a soap opera, but maybe that's just my tastes. But I do think it's tiring to read "archaic" writing.

i can't speak for other schools, but my former high school currently hiked up their tuition fee. it's now ridiculously expensive, and i only hope the teachers' salaries were given a raise. because nothing else changed. the classrooms are still as hot as ever because we just use electric fans. at that rate, most of the rooms should at least have aircon :|

i did notice that there was a distinct lack of imagination in the way the english curriculum was constructed. everything was so....Christian. I mean, mind you, there's nothing wrong with that, but really, the readings hardly inspired any imagination or eagerness on the part of young minds.

[AkumaTakeshi]

In Portugal we're overflowed with teachers so it's normal to have a lower salary, most are just happy to be able to have a job it's a bit sad tho

I'm Atheist, so I don't like people imposing religion beliefs to, but I don't mind books referring to Christian beliefs or even maybe other religions. I am fairly informed in christian, Hindu, Buddhism, Jewish, satanic (maybe it's not exactly what you think it is, there's a huge difference between satanic and devil worshipers), even maybe a bit about pagan ones, but I just prefer to believe in myself and in science instead of something I can't see. But I do believe that some people need to believe in something far greater than themselves.

*EDIT* to be more on topic, I think books talking about a certain religion or better various may bring better reality to it but as long it doesn't judge the way that the reader thinks.

[wyndslash]

the government needs to build more public schools and increase teachers' salaries instead of pocketing them :|

here, it's the public school teachers who sometimes (okay, make that most of the time) shell out their own, meager salary to provide supplies to their own students.

[leebase]

Are publishers doing a bad job? I don't accept that as necessarily true. In light of a billion channels on cable tv, youtube (my kids watch youtube almost as much as they watch tv), movies, video games, face book etc. etc. -- perhaps the publishing industry is doing a fantastic job in light of the competition.

I've never at any time -- in the past or now in the present -- been without far more available books to read, books I'd actually want to read, than I could ever have time TO read.

I'm just not convinced that publishers as a whole are doing a horrible job.

Lee

[anamardoll]

More than teachers, I blame the crappy textbooks we give kids.

I HATED "literature" as a kid, and didn't understand why I suddenly loved it in college. (THANK YOU MARGARET ATWOOD!) I go back and look at my old texts and I can see why -- a bunch of bland "morality" stories about the importance of giving up a dog (a Basenji! It will never laugh again because its heart is broken!) you found and cherished because his rich owner finally located you and he wants his stud dog back, or that stupid stupid STUPID story about the "vain" woman who borrowed a (paste) diamond necklace, lost it, and spent the rest of her life paying off a (real) diamond necklace because she wouldn't communicate with her friend and the "moral" of that was to "don't be vain enough to borrow necklaces" rather than something sensible like "insure your stuff to its appraised value".

Grr. If someone forced me to read that crap now, I'd shove the eReader (of their choice!) down their throat.

[AkumaTakeshi]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

More than teachers, I blame the crappy textbooks we give kids.

I HATED "literature" as a kid, and didn't understand why I suddenly loved it in college. (THANK YOU MARGARET ATWOOD!) I go back and look at my old texts and I can see why -- a bunch of bland "morality" stories about the importance of giving up a dog (a Basenji! It will never laugh again because its heart is broken!) you found and cherished because his rich owner finally located you and he wants his stud dog back, or that stupid stupid STUPID story about the "vain" woman who borrowed a (paste) diamond necklace, lost it, and spent the rest of her life paying off a (real) diamond necklace because she wouldn't communicate with her friend and the "moral" of that was to "don't be vain enough to borrow necklaces" rather than something sensible like "insure your stuff to its appraised value".

Grr. If someone forced me to read that crap now, I'd shove the eReader (of their choice!) down their throat.

Lol... Ye those stories are frustrating, we already have live to f*** us up, we don't need books to help it too

I had to read some crappy stories like that too, fortunately I can't remember any specific one and those legends and myth stories with some moral too. Whatever, now I read what I want