What is the Future of American Book Shops?
by Paul Hunt
The dystopian end for literacy. The very last stage of the retail book business will be Book Tents on sidewalks in the big cities as the huge skyscrapers become empty due to high rent and finally to the massive CME from the Sun. With 300,000 mainly homeless, destitute, and uneducated people pouring over the border every month, does anybody actually believe that there’s going to be less people living on the streets? When the internet goes down get ready to shop for books on the sidewalks.
It looks like American society has abandoned it’s own culture. The demise of bookstores, art galleries and small theaters are sure signs of the decay. Here’s the report card for reading in California schools from CAreads.org:
Reading is the most fundamental skill children must learn to succeed in school and in life. But today, half of California’s students do not read at grade level. What’s worse, among low-income students of color, over 65% read below grade level. Few ever catch up.
Sad news for anyone thinking about trying to sell a book in the future. The trend is also showing up at libraries. I’ve noticed lately that most libraries have changed their mix, which is now maybe 40% books, 40% audio and video and 20% computers.
Let me know what YOU think. I have a few ideas for solutions, but I’ll save them until Hollywood starts issuing the book tents with small solar panels to power lights inside. And a fluffy pillow for an old guy to sit on.
“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” – Ray Bradbury
Unfortunately, I think the only practical solution is to let the system collapse and then rebuild it properly from the ground up. This seems to be the only way that has worked throughout history. Many of us have hoards of books stashed away safely that can help rebuild civilization after it hits the fan. This upheaval would also provide a convenient opportunity to eradicate the vermin that are invading and infesting decent real estate on this planet.