Are We In Danger Of Descending Into A New Dark Age In Literature?

a reply to: funkadeliaaaa

Who's talking about Harry Potter?

We're talking about the great authors of the past and their books. You know the Dead White Men of current literary ire because they had the gaul to be born the wrong color and gender.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus
My reply was more directed at the OP than it was directed at your post actually.
It occurred to me when I read the OP that physically owning a copy yourself may be more of a materialistic compulsion than an actual necessity with so many public libraries.

a reply to: ketsuko

Ok,

Im just not a fan of fanaticism no matter what.

originally posted by: funkadeliaaaa

It occurred to me when I read the OP that physically owning a copy yourself may be more of a materialistic compulsion than an actual necessity with so many public libraries.

It is both a materialistic compulsion and a scarcity factor for me as many of my history and reference books are not available at any but the largest public libraries or universities as they were not widely printed.

originally posted by: Iamthatbish
I'm more concerned that people today don't read the classics. I don't care if they read them traditionally or digitally. They just need to read them!

My children didn't even know who Maya Angelou was. All the books on schools reading lists today are brand new designed to get a specific message accross. That means most parents don't have a clue what their children are reading.

Maya Angelou is a classic?

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

originally posted by: funkadeliaaaa

Which begs the question, withnso many public libraries, why do people feel the need to buy their own copy?

Another reason is I would rather sit in here (sorry for the sideways view):

And read than go to the library.

Apology accepted... Even though its just a picture i could sit and admire at that room for a long time.. Thanks for inviting us in...

For some reason the sentence "all your bookshelfs are belong to us" pops into my head.

originally posted by: funkadeliaaaa
Apology accepted... Even though its just a picture i could sit and admire at that room for a long time.. Thanks for inviting us in...

For some reason the sentence "all your bookshelfs are belong to us" pops into my head.

Thank you. It took about 4 months to scrape all the white paint off the woodwork, remove the popcorn ceiling, fix the plasterwork, repair the fireplace, paint the walls, stain the trim and refinish the floors to get it to where we wanted.

I actually have more books in the room adjacent to this one which is a second office that my wife uses and were we keep the desktop computer.

a reply to: lonesomerimbaud

I fail entirely to agree that we are on the brink of some literary dark age.

If you purchase your books online, you are bound to believe that there is a problem in the offiing, but its nonsense. Go to a charity shop. The shelves are always packed with wonders, with books that have been left in either error, or ignorance, and at prices of anything from thirty pence, to one pound fifty.

The dark age will be afoot when books cannot be sold by uncredited sellers, when even trading between two individuals in person, or sharing a book with a friend becomes a criminal offense. Till then, there will always be movement of books between interested parties.

To my mind, the less that companies are involved with the process, the better. It might make things trickier for those who get their books online, but books will still be sold and traded and swapped and shared, no matter whether there is a commercial structure involved or not.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus
Im not totally against owning personal libraries large or small.
But for literature enthusiasts i dont see the point of having a personal collection, of books that anyone can find at the local library. If there isnt a local library, then they should think about setting one up with otherbliterature enthusiasts for the whole community instead of just having a private one, if its only literature.

I use much printer ink - printing out digital information I never want to loose. Amongst my large book collection I'll be working on for the rest of my life. I love books. It's what I collect. Well that and yarn. But the OP is right. Hard copy books are becoming ridiculously expensive - unless you get lucky and find them at goodwill or salvation's army. It's almost more prudent to get a digital copy and print it out on your printer at home.

I safeguard my digital stuff I don't want to loose. But it gets expensive, so I have to be picky. Printer ink isn't cheap.

CdT

originally posted by: funkadeliaaaa
First name harry, second name potter... I mean no.... Just no... The literature scene in my generation was officially murdered by that freaking book series...

I never read the Potter books but I couldn't disagree more with this.
Do you know how many millions of young readers started with the Potter books?

originally posted by: opethPA

I never read the Potter books but I couldn't disagree more with this.
Do you know how many millions of young readers started with the Potter books?

Exactly, my wife read all of them and I turned her on to other fantasy fiction authors who are considered masters of the genre and she liked and appreciated all of them.

On a side note I do have them masked (along with her Twilight books) by a strategically placed photo of Penn Station and a Japanese ink painting (top shelf of the bookcase on the right of my desk in the photo).

Speaking as someone who has benefited directly from the existence of digital publishers such as Amazon, Google, Apple, and the rest, I do not see digital publishing as leading us into a proverbial 'Dark Age'.
Digital publishing opens doors, that were not only previously closed, but locked and guarded by elitist gatekeepers, to writers of all levels and backgrounds.
If anything, though there may be a glut of less-than-top notch literary works on the market, there will also be gems that would never have seen the light of day, due to the author's lack of the right connections.
I do agree that there is a certain charm, and comfort to owning physical books, however, digital media has increased the possibility of new classics being discovered, exponentially.

Twilight and 50 Shades of Gray are top sellers.
We are already in a literary dark age.

I always get hard copies of books. I don't do the electronic versions because it doesn't feel like I actually own a book. Those could disappear so easily whereas a book in the hand is actually a book in the hand.

a reply to: FlyersFan

You ain't kiddin'.

originally posted by: opethPA

originally posted by: funkadeliaaaa
First name harry, second name potter... I mean no.... Just no... The literature scene in my generation was officially murdered by that freaking book series...

I never read the Potter books but I couldn't disagree more with this.
Do you know how many millions of young readers started with the Potter books?

Well, it depends. Are we talking about literature or just fiction in general?

I happen to enjoy the Harry Potter series very much for what it is, and I absolutely appreciate the role it has played in getting so many kids to read. And there are some definite lessons to learn for a writer in that series. However, is it great, masterful literature? I don't think so. It wouldn't surprise me if we are using Harry Potter for a while yet, but as far as the timeless quality of great literature that speaks ... I actually think Suzanne Collins did a better job in her Hunger Games Trilogy. Again, I'm not sure if we'll be calling that a timeless classic, but I think it comes closer than Harry Potter.

a reply to: FlyersFan

With you all the way on the physical copy front.

There is something about the feeling of a volume of significant magnitude, and the pages under ones fingers, that I would not be without, not even if it means there are some books that I find it difficult to access. None the less, I find myself swamped, absolutely inundated with things to read, despite my total aversion to e-readers and the like.

a reply to: FlyersFan

I always get hard copies of books. I don't do the electronic versions because it doesn't feel like I actually own a book. Those could disappear so easily whereas a book in the hand is actually a book in the hand.

Yes that is true .... but

I lost so many books, half a lifetimes worth to a flood. A friend lost theirs to a fire. In both cases, our digital books survived because they were easy to pick up.

I think the biggest two problems facing us today are

Revisionist history, there is a lot of this going on, has been for decades. and

PC nonsense. Re-writing classics or banning them outright because of some stupid brainless twit that gets offended at a bunch of children sleeping in the same bed (as often happened in those days ) or someone used a word that is no longer 'appropriate'.

So look for old sets of encyclopedias, I have a set of Grolliers from 1946.

Collect anything that is not PC friendly, Enid Blighton (sp)

P

a reply to: funkadeliaaaa

I was thinking about the book Wonder that I had to read because I had no idea what my son was reading. Don't you remember asking for help and the elders in your family could at least vaguely recall what books were about?

The reading lists come straight from the bookstores and either create or come from the best seller list. I remember reading many books I didn't want to. The point is the ciricilum was broad. We read more than what I honestly call trash. (I read tons of trash)

ETA: b&n was giving away calendars and posters and so much swag for teachers and parents to go with the books. Every single book on the reading list had a display.

Edit again because yes Maya Angelou is classic even if you haven't read her you should know who she was. If you've ever heard her perform her writing you would feel her words.

a reply to: Iamthatbish

Unlees were talking about classics like The Communist Manifesto, or Lord of the Rings, then no