Week 16: Wild Extrapolation

First, how have reading and books changed since you were a child, for you specifically? 

My personal reading habits have certainly changed, because of course I have less free time, and I have obligatory tasks that must be done without book in hand. So I listen to audiobooks—while driving, doing dishes, exercising, gardening, etc.—and read on my phone while waiting in offices or lines or in crowded spaces. Honest-to-goodness physical books are a treat, but I do usually have one in my purse, just in case. Audiobooks used to be a treat only indulged in while traveling or during hurricane season. E-books did not exist when I was a child. Physical books were what I usually read. 

Reading has also changed in that I used to read “the classics” and try to get to the point where I would have a workable knowledge of “western” culture because I did not grow up solely in America and I wished to belong (I didn’t get jokes from ‘The Simpsons’ until I was maybe 15 years old, because most of them are based on pop culture or gross-out humor). Now, I embrace my weird upbringing and have chosen to read books not only by the people who are often used to represent mainstream culture but also those that represent the oppressed, or simply the other. It’s nice to feel at home in my own imagination, finally.

Second, talk a little about what you see in the future for reading, books, or publishing - say 20 years from now. Will we read more or less, will our reading become more interactive? What will happen to traditional publishing? 

I am uneasy about trying to predict the future. I do expect that copyright laws will change drastically (did you know that Milton wrote fan fiction of the Bible? Dante wrote fan fiction of Boccaccio? Shakespeare and Chaucer’s work was fan fiction of… a lot of other authors?). And An Archive Of Our Own (ao3) was just nominated for a Hugo Award. I think the number of readers that read online will grow and that getting ebooks will be easier. I think audiobooks will grow in popularity because we have more and more narrators that are not only on stage/screen but also on radio/audiobooks—it isn’t just grainy recordings or abridged titles; we have really good quality work being funded. 

Paperbacks and hardbacks will probably dwindle a little when it comes to publication numbers (think less mass-market paperbacks); but the books that are produced will probably be made with a little better quality. More effort will be spent to promote the experience of reading them. I mean, deckle edged acid-free paper, comes with a downloadable e-book; really good cover art and illustrations. Publishing companies will have a media presence and a personality. 

I think some reading is already more interactive—the number of Kickstarter projects to fund book production is surprising; the number of books made about other storytelling experiences (think any number of the books based on the experience of playing a role-playing game—e.g. the ‘Vox Machina’ comic and book series from Critical Role’s Dungeons & Dragons campaign) is growing. I have funded book projects to see stories told that wouldn’t have a big audience at a major publishing house. The amount of community-building that goes on around authors like Neil Gaiman or J.K. Rowling goes far beyond their personal gifts. Ursula Le Guin has no reason to be so pessimistic. Eloquence is so excuse. She’s even mistaken about the history of literacy, as evidenced by… so much. How did she get away with publishing ‘Staying Awake’?

The mere fact that people get outraged over “spoiler warnings” is a huge positive sign to me. They care that much about being surprised by a story that they rage at strangers and famous people online or walk out of public rooms, or censor their own conversation to respect a mere convention of storytelling when the same person won’t censor their own conversation to respect political/cultural/religious differences… this gives me hope. Storytelling is that important.

#KeepTheSecrets #DontSpoilTheEndgame #MaytheSpoilersRemainInYou