The Future of Reading (And Writing)

 By Janice Cantore

Most of the writers I know are like me: they love to read. I vividly remember my first school trip to the library. When looking at shelves filled with all types of books, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. At the library in college, desks were placed in private areas in the book stacks and that was my favorite place to study, surrounded by books. I even liked the way the book stacks smelled—of bindings and pages and endless possibilities all around. Opening a book and reading a well-told story will always be a pleasurable experience for me.

When e-readers came out, I was hesitant at first. I thought, but I love the feel of the book in my hands! When I got my Kindle, I have to say I came to love the fact that thousands of books would now fit in my purse. Just think, thousands of riveting tales now fit in the palm of my hand! It was amazing and is more so the longer I have the Kindle. But I have run into people who think that the Kindle was the death knell for books, that it and other e-readers brought changes to publishing that have destroyed the business, and things for writers and readers alike will never be the same.

But I think they miss the point. What drives readers and writers alike is a well-told story, a well-written excursion into a fascinating story world. E-readers just open up another avenue. In fact, the digital age may have flamed to life a whole new market for well-written novels. In the Wall Street Journal this week, there was an editorial titled “Howthe Internet Saved the Novel,” (L. Gordon Crovitz, October 15, 2012, 

The author highlights what he calls “digital snacking” and explains how bits of information gathered through text messages, e-mail, social media, etc.; actually throw people out of balance. In the same way that snacking on junk food might make you crave steak, “digital snacking” causes people to crave something more substantial: the well-crafted novel. He says the more than 100,000 novels being published each year in the US and Britain are proof that the digital age has energized the market for books.

Maybe. But there is nothing new under the sun. Well-written stories have always been craved whether the reader snacks or not. And the delivery system matters not at all. Writers know that if you write it well, they will read. It’s a win-win for writers and readers alike.

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 "A retired Long Beach California police officer of 22 years (16 in uniform and 6 as a non-career officer), Janice Cantore worked a variety of assignments, patrol, administration, juvenile investigations and training. During the course of her career in uniform Janice found that faith was indispensable to every aspect of the job and published articles on faith at work, one for a quarterly newspaper called "Cop and Christ", and another for the monthly magazine "Today's Christian Woman". She has a two book suspense series in print she calls Brinna's Heart Series, The Kevlar Heart and A Heart of Justice. She writes suspense novels designed to keep you engrossed and leave you inspired." Amazon -She is the author of the Pacific Coast Justice Series, Accused, Abducted, and  Avenged.

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