Many enthusiasts and literature lovers out there believe that, slowly, books and their worth in society and across the country are dying. Don’t get me wrong – there is still life somewhere between the cracks on the walls – but this isn’t exactly bookworm heaven either. So, in short, we are walking and prancing over really thin ice at the moment.
Once in awhile, though, you meet someone who still has that vigor and gusto over a really good read. Every now and then you can find a person – young or old – who can carry on a lengthy conversation over the hidden themes behind the latest political novel. However, these rare circumstances are either concentrated in specific groups or communities, happen so seldomly you’d think readers have taken the double life of British secret agents.
Blame (for the lack of a better term) can be put mainly on the many other things that take up our time – not necessarily just our immersion with work and our careers. Even our spare time for things we enjoy and for relaxing has now become split into many other priorities – watching TV, playing with all the new gadgets and consoles that are out in the market, being on our smartphones 24/7, spending time surfing the web, and so on. We are so digitalized that even our reading habits have gotten the electronic hype.
In the end, we cannot do much but voice our opinions. The impact and influence of technology and change to society at large is exactly that: large. Heller McAlpin gives her educated two cents on these matters.