Staying Awake (2008)

3 days ago

The National Endowment for the Arts reported a decline in reading among Americans, with polls indicating fewer people read books each year.
Historically, literacy was a privilege of the ruling class and gradually expanded to broader society, becoming a social activity and bond.
Reading was considered a social need, with bestsellers serving as common topics for conversation, similar to popular TV shows today.
Corporate publishing prioritizes profit and growth, often treating books as commodities and focusing on short-term sales over literary value.
The author argues that books are durable, reliable objects that offer a different kind of pleasure than other media, requiring active engagement.
Despite competition from other entertainment media, books remain a unique and lasting form of art and information.
Corporate publishers often disregard the long-term value of books, such as backlists, and focus on immediate blockbuster sales.
The relationship between art and capitalism is fraught, with corporations struggling to reconcile literary publishing with profit motives.
The author suggests that publishing is not a typical business and that corporations should consider letting literary publishing operate independently.

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