Book Clubs of Tomorrow

      

Growing up, I always dreaded the third Thursday of every month because I knew I would be spending a night with my dreaded babysitter, Carissa. Carissa was the type of high-schooler who thrived on the power to control innocent children to do her chores, microwave her dinner and clean her room. I spent hours trying to convince my mom to stay home, but I always failed, receiving the same monthly response. "I'm sorry, Justin. You know I have book club."

I assume that I am not the only child who experienced something of this nature. Everyone had his or her own version of “Carissa” due to a neighborhood book club. Now that I am older, I understand the value of book clubs- everyone reading the same piece and gathering to discuss the ups and down and deeper meanings. Book clubs used to a social morn, specifically for women. It was a chance for them to leave the kids with a babysitter and get together to discuss the latest bestseller or a treasured classic. Men partook in the activity as well, often discussing murder mysteries or political nonfiction in my dad’s case. Despite the valuable discussion, book clubs are becoming a rarity with many shifting to online discussion boards or forums.

This argument is further discussed n Print is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age where author Jeff Gomez states:

“Just about every Web page you visit that has any appreciable amount of content on it provides a feature where you can email it to a friend. Blogs allow users to subscribe to their sites via RSS feeds, syndicating their content throughout the Internet and the world…share in an experience (which hundreds if not thousands of other also sharing)…This is the kind of discussion that used to happen between friends or family members who have read the same book,” (159)

Overall, the concept of the book club is still alive, but the intimacy and personal connection between people has been lost. If someone wants to comment on a book, all he or she has to do is go online and find a chat room that is discussing the book. Furthermore, this process has gotten the author more involved in the dialogue. Authors not only participate in these forums, but they also take suggestions from readers, developing fan fiction into bestsellers, such as the Fifty Shades of Grey series. While this is becoming more convenient for readers and authors, publishing still needs to find a way to get involved with the discussion before it is left out of the conversation. Without being present for these online message boards, publishing companies may lose their voice. The book club is just another example of how technology and the digital age are changing the way book are published, read and perceived.

Social Media: A Lack of Privacy

Social media is without a doubt the addictive of the 21st century. People of all ages participate in the online phenomenon, spanning from Facebook to Instagram to Tumblr and every website in between. While most people use these sites without a second thought, there is one thing that should be on every user's mind: privacy. Or...a lack thereof. The following are a few points highlight common user errors that are a result of a lack of knowledge in terms of how much privacy social media holds.

       1) People forget that once they post on social media, it stays on the World Wide Web forever.

There is no backspace to the Internet. Even when something appears to be off of your computer screen or no longer on your Facebook wall, it is still out there. Someone may have taken a screenshot and saved it on their computer. Someone may have saved the IP address. Even if you did manage to take down the information, it is still floating around in the unknown world of the WWW, something that very few people tend to remember. Someone out there can still access that deleted information, even if the original post appears to have been deleted. In addition to this, people often agree to have their information shared or their name used without even knowing it. The following is an example of the fine print of Facebook, something that most people do not even think twice about reading: 

This is just one example of how the inforamtion you share is not entirely yours, and you often do not have control over who sees it or uses it once it is posted. 

       2) People do not think long term about the impact of their social media posts.

I'll be the first to say, I have posted some questionable things on social media. Whether it was a strong opinion or a picture that made it look like I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, most people tend to have some regrets about their social media posts. One example is posting a picture where you appear to be intoxicated on social media. Let's say you are a 20 year old girl having fun at party, drinking lemonade out of a red cup and someone snaps a photo and posts it on Facebook. Even though you weren't drinking under age, it may appear that way. Many company search Facebook and other social media sites when looking for new hires. If they see that you were "drunk" underage, they may be less likely to hire you. In any case, most people post thinking only about the present, when social media has a great impact on your future.

       3) People post before they think.

This goes along with the last point, but continues to deeper meaning. Many people will post their thoughts or pictures to appear "cool" or make themselves a part of conversation. People want to post anything and everything that they are doing, searching for self-reassurance through likes or comments on social media. By doing this, many poeple sometimes post information or pictures that should be kept private, not thinking about the consequences of the post. If people are under the influence of alcohol or drugs, they may post something that they would not normally post. Bad news- once it's out there, it is out there for good.

The Evolution of the Reader

Throughout this semester our class has been interested in the amount of change that is taking place in book and print culture. At the beginning of the semester, I assumed that this change would only affect the industry and the people involved in print careers; however, these technological changes and innovations affect anyone who reads in four specific ways:

First, readers are more on-the-go than ever before. Everyone needs 25 hours per day, so in order to get information, readers turn to apps, headlines, and notifications to get news. If something is happened a day ago, it’s old news. Because of the increased culture of skimming for news and information, readers have developed a shorter attention span. Very few people sit down for four or five hours at a time to read a book or an entire newspaper. For this reason, the printing world has been forced to adapt, creating more online blogs and apps to spark reader interest. The concept of “close reading” is dwindling, not only because of the change in print culture, but also the society that is causing those changes.

Secondly, there has been a drastic rise in eBooks. This is in response to advancing technologies, as well as the capability for readers to hold thousands of books on a singular, compact device. Bookstores, such as Barnes and Noble, have been forced adapt, creating brands, such as Nook, to offset the lack of sales and participation in hardcopy print. eBooks became extremely popular, causing a decrease in book sales. Many bookstores have closed some of their stores, such as Barnes and Noble, while others, like Borders, have shut down completely. eBooks are often cheaper than printed versions, and most of the time they are cheaper. For example, this summer I read Happy by Alex Lemon. I tried to buy it at a local Barnes and Noble, but the book was not in store it would cost around $15 to ship to the store or to my house. Instead, I chose to download it onto my iPad via iBooks, which only cost me $6 and no time.

Due to a rise in eBooks, the way readers read these books is also changing. There has been a rise in online discussion boards, chat rooms, and comments. The idea of a traditional book club has become a rarity, because it is much easier to type out your thoughts online and immediate receive opinions from people all around the world. Furthermore, this has increased the concept of “fan fiction.” Authors have started to use these discussion boards to create new pieces, making these accessible discussion more valuable to authors, while a traditional book club may be more valuable to the reader.

Clearly, it seems that eBooks and online reading have overtaken the printing culture. Despite this, the is a new group of readers that just might save the printing world, known as hybrid readers. These are readers, for whatever personal reason, purchase both printed books and digital books. According to an article published (online) by Alexandra Alter of The New York Times, eBook sales are in decline, and the print industry is back on the rise. The article states:

“E-book subscription services, modeled on companies like Netflix and Pandora, have struggled to convert book lovers into digital binge readers, and some have shut down. Sales of dedicated e-reading devices have plunged as consumers migrated to tablets and smartphones. And according to some surveys, young readers who are digital natives still prefer reading on paper,” (Alter).

In my opinion, readers still aren’t sure what they what. It seems as though that print culture may not be dead yet; however, the industry will need to adapt to regain the success of the past.