Week 15 Prompt Response

For me, books and reading haven’t changed that much since I was a child. I loved to read then, and I love to read now. Even though there are digital books available now, I still prefer to read physical copies (the only exception is when I am traveling, and then I like the convenience of reading on a Kindle). As an adult, I am more mindful of clutter than I was a child. Having too much stuff bothers me, so I feel like I don’t purchase many new books since I already have plenty on my bookshelves - instead I check a LOT of books out from my local library. 

One difference between the way I read as a child and the way I read now is that I’ve learned you can actually stop a book mid-way if you don’t like it. I used to think you had to keep pushing on until you got to the end, no matter how much you liked or disliked a book. As an adult, I realized that I can abandon a book if I don’t like it, and the world does not turn upside down. I know as a teenager I had to read a lot of books for English class at school that I didn’t particularly love (like Lord of the Flies), and I think my earlier mindset of having to finish something even if I didn’t like it came from there. It’s very freeing to realize you don’t need to finish books you aren’t enjoying. 

Thinking ahead 20 years to the future, I think people will still read physical and digital books. I’ve noticed a trend in publishing with small, independent publishing companies being very selective about what they produce and choosing only a few titles to beautifully publish rather than mass market a ton of books (see Ripple Grove Press as an example). I also think more people will choose to self publish. As the technology becomes easier and easier to work with, writers can easily create the files needed for kindle versions of their books, or figure out how to create the digital files needed to print their title. I think there will always be a demand for good stories, so writing and reading will still be going strong in the future.

As a side note, I wanted to say thanks to the many people in this class who have given me ideas this semester. I’ve added titles to my TBR list, bookmarked websites with various resources, joined Facebook groups about storytimes, and more...all from ideas shared through blog posts or comments on posts. Thanks for letting me walk away from this class with lots of resources in my pocket. I’ve enjoyed learning with all of you this semester!