If you want to twist everything I say, McMurphy, no one can stop you.
I have, most certainly, said that readers are unadventurous, and that whatever they may intend when they go into a bookstore, when the time comes they choose to be cautious. I stand by that. Particularly since nobody here has said any different. That's not laying blame. They can spend their money how they wish. They can read what they wish. You are, in fact, the one who is characterizing what the majority of readers buy as unworthy to be published. So if anyone is insulting readers ...
As I said, the good news is that readers have power. The bad news is that the ones who are dissatisfied seldom use that power. Well, why should they, when so much misinformation -- no I won't even dignify it by calling it that, because what it is is imaginative speculation -- is being fed to them about dire conspiracies on the part of the book industry?
It's unfortunate if you choose to think like a victim, but more unfortunate still if you convince other people to feel the same way.
There are many things that we, as readers, can do -- if we understand our power.
We can think carefully before we spend our money, ask ourselves, "What message do my dollars send the book publishers? Am I telling them to publish more bloated series books, or am I encouraging them to take a chance on something new and different?"
If we find a book we really like, instead of lending it to friends we think will like it too, we can buy copies at Christmas time or for birthdays and give them as gifts.
If we don't have much money to spend on books, and we don't have a library card, we can get one and use it. (As taxpayers, we're paying for library books anyway, so we may as well read them.) Libraries usually pay attention to which books are checked out, and they buy new books accordingly. We can look out for new books by new authors that look like something we might like to read and request those books if our libraries don't have them. Again, librarians often pay attention to these things.
And when we find a new author that we like, we can talk about their books. The next time a recommendation thread comes up, instead of the knee-jerk Martin -- Erickson -- Goodkind recommendations, we can bring up that lesser-known book we enjoyed so much. We can write a Chronicles review. We can get that author's name out there.
Or we can bitch and moan and make bitter remarks, and nothing will change. I'd rather see readers who are looking for something new (a group of people with whom I identify myself) come into their power. Do I get frustrated because they don't use it? Yes. But I get more frustrated when people try to convince them that they have no power, because then they never will use it.
But if, instead of twisting my words and attacking me, you can think of any reason why it would be a bad thing for readers to become informed, think about the consequences of their spending habits, use their library cards, and talk about books they love that others may not have heard about ... by all means, let's hear it.
I have, most certainly, said that readers are unadventurous, and that whatever they may intend when they go into a bookstore, when the time comes they choose to be cautious. I stand by that. Particularly since nobody here has said any different. That's not laying blame. They can spend their money how they wish. They can read what they wish. You are, in fact, the one who is characterizing what the majority of readers buy as unworthy to be published. So if anyone is insulting readers ...
As I said, the good news is that readers have power. The bad news is that the ones who are dissatisfied seldom use that power. Well, why should they, when so much misinformation -- no I won't even dignify it by calling it that, because what it is is imaginative speculation -- is being fed to them about dire conspiracies on the part of the book industry?
It's unfortunate if you choose to think like a victim, but more unfortunate still if you convince other people to feel the same way.
There are many things that we, as readers, can do -- if we understand our power.
We can think carefully before we spend our money, ask ourselves, "What message do my dollars send the book publishers? Am I telling them to publish more bloated series books, or am I encouraging them to take a chance on something new and different?"
If we find a book we really like, instead of lending it to friends we think will like it too, we can buy copies at Christmas time or for birthdays and give them as gifts.
If we don't have much money to spend on books, and we don't have a library card, we can get one and use it. (As taxpayers, we're paying for library books anyway, so we may as well read them.) Libraries usually pay attention to which books are checked out, and they buy new books accordingly. We can look out for new books by new authors that look like something we might like to read and request those books if our libraries don't have them. Again, librarians often pay attention to these things.
And when we find a new author that we like, we can talk about their books. The next time a recommendation thread comes up, instead of the knee-jerk Martin -- Erickson -- Goodkind recommendations, we can bring up that lesser-known book we enjoyed so much. We can write a Chronicles review. We can get that author's name out there.
Or we can bitch and moan and make bitter remarks, and nothing will change. I'd rather see readers who are looking for something new (a group of people with whom I identify myself) come into their power. Do I get frustrated because they don't use it? Yes. But I get more frustrated when people try to convince them that they have no power, because then they never will use it.
But if, instead of twisting my words and attacking me, you can think of any reason why it would be a bad thing for readers to become informed, think about the consequences of their spending habits, use their library cards, and talk about books they love that others may not have heard about ... by all means, let's hear it.
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