I like this. Makes me think of that Alan Moore quote: 'Treat writing as an immensely powerful deity which you have to do your very best work to appease.'
hell yes. Moore provided the gateway drug that got me into all this stuff, and his perspective on all things magical and creative is endlessly valuable. i'm shamefully unfamiliar with most of his work: his nonfiction was my entry point, and i got hooked on that. but I re-read "Voice of the Fire" every November.
I so agree with this take. I actually see a really strong future for books as collectibles. I read books on my phone, but collect my favorites. That companies like Easton Press and Folio Society and campaigns on Kickstarter are successful seems a proof point in that favor.
(Though I will admit, I'm working on my first Kickstarter campaign right now and it seems nearly impossible to get the math to look anything like profitability unless I charge a ton for each copy. Printing is so expensive!)
yes! hope for the future. similar to that -- one place where the publishing industry really seems to be thriving is in the occult/esoterica space. it's a self-selecting demographic: most occultists are Book People by definition, and so there are absolutely *gorgeous* (and eye-wateringly expensive) fine edition press runs from places like Anathema and Scarlet Imprint. i have no idea if anyone is making money on these, but they're still doing the lord's work by getting so many drop-dead beautiful print books out into the world.
maybe you should change gears and become a witch? :D
I work in a used bookstore. And I have a library of about 2500 volumes at home. I handle books all day, every day, for both work and leisure. At work, I accept and reject, assign a price, carefully shelve, and joyfully observe when cool books go back out the door.
We see one-of-a-kind volumes every day; it is a joy to work there, although I may have to stop at some point, because I cannot cut myself off. I pick out 3-4 books to bring home pretty much every day.
When I read Elle's essay, I actually thought of you and your book struggle. Glad to see you weighing in with your unique take!
After reading Elle's essay, I was nodding along at the awful state of the publishing industry but then I read Freddie deBoer's and Kathleen Schmidt's (https://kathleenschmidt.substack.com/p/please-stop-bashing-book-publishing) essays and felt that it was more hopeful. I personally always prefer to do my book reading with a physical copy, rather than an e-reader, even if it means I have to go out to the couch in the middle of the night with a headlamp so as not to wake up my husband.
I live in a town with a great public library system and tend to get my books from there, and if there is a book they do not have, I will request it, so that at least represents one book purchase. But I do feel bad about not contributing monetarily to the book industry, since most of the books I read are borrowed. (I would need a much bigger house if I bought every book that I read!) I like Substack for the ability to pay an author for their work and have bought physical books from some of my favorite Substack newsletters as well.
I would add to your statement about every book on your shelf "at home" being a portal--I think library books can be even more of a portal since sometimes I think about the person who read it before me, or whoever will read it afterwards. I wish I could share my thoughts with them and hear theirs. There is more of a community aura around library books, though they are also more transient in your own life.
absolutely! that's something that hadn't occurred to me, but you're absolutely right. we lost something when virtual check-out replaced the KA-CHUNK of the 'Due Date' stamp, with the book's passport tucked inside the cover in its little pocket. but at least there's still the possibility of some ghostly marginalia.
i think a truly great library would make the most of the liminality of books and have an annual book séance around Halloween time, reading off the names of the obscure authors whose work is on the shelves and in danger of being forgotten. maybe i'll pitch that to my local...
Sounds like a fun event! I would love to see libraries give you the ability to connect with future or past readers (with permission from the other person, of course)
No one loves to go hunting for treasures in a used e-book store! ;)
Tangentially related, someone in the maelstrom that is Substack was pointing out that reading on a screen is inherently more of a surface activity than reading a printed book, which encourages deeper attention. (See? I can't even remember who said it!) I think there are studies that have shown this, though I don't notice much of a difference between my Kindle and a regular book. (I think the plain old Kindle Paperwhite does a pretty good job of imitating print, as opposed to a regular screen.)
I like this. Makes me think of that Alan Moore quote: 'Treat writing as an immensely powerful deity which you have to do your very best work to appease.'
hell yes. Moore provided the gateway drug that got me into all this stuff, and his perspective on all things magical and creative is endlessly valuable. i'm shamefully unfamiliar with most of his work: his nonfiction was my entry point, and i got hooked on that. but I re-read "Voice of the Fire" every November.
That's brilliant. The Cremation Fields is my favourite of those stories. The voice acting on the audio book is amazing.
I so agree with this take. I actually see a really strong future for books as collectibles. I read books on my phone, but collect my favorites. That companies like Easton Press and Folio Society and campaigns on Kickstarter are successful seems a proof point in that favor.
(Though I will admit, I'm working on my first Kickstarter campaign right now and it seems nearly impossible to get the math to look anything like profitability unless I charge a ton for each copy. Printing is so expensive!)
yes! hope for the future. similar to that -- one place where the publishing industry really seems to be thriving is in the occult/esoterica space. it's a self-selecting demographic: most occultists are Book People by definition, and so there are absolutely *gorgeous* (and eye-wateringly expensive) fine edition press runs from places like Anathema and Scarlet Imprint. i have no idea if anyone is making money on these, but they're still doing the lord's work by getting so many drop-dead beautiful print books out into the world.
maybe you should change gears and become a witch? :D
Oh I haven’t heard of these presses but they sound amazing! Maybe I should reprint my gothic novel 🧙🏻♀️
I work in a used bookstore. And I have a library of about 2500 volumes at home. I handle books all day, every day, for both work and leisure. At work, I accept and reject, assign a price, carefully shelve, and joyfully observe when cool books go back out the door.
We see one-of-a-kind volumes every day; it is a joy to work there, although I may have to stop at some point, because I cannot cut myself off. I pick out 3-4 books to bring home pretty much every day.
I really enjoyed this piece.
you're doing the lord's work, thanks for keeping those spaces alive for the rest of us. i'm glad you enjoyed the essay!
When I read Elle's essay, I actually thought of you and your book struggle. Glad to see you weighing in with your unique take!
After reading Elle's essay, I was nodding along at the awful state of the publishing industry but then I read Freddie deBoer's and Kathleen Schmidt's (https://kathleenschmidt.substack.com/p/please-stop-bashing-book-publishing) essays and felt that it was more hopeful. I personally always prefer to do my book reading with a physical copy, rather than an e-reader, even if it means I have to go out to the couch in the middle of the night with a headlamp so as not to wake up my husband.
I live in a town with a great public library system and tend to get my books from there, and if there is a book they do not have, I will request it, so that at least represents one book purchase. But I do feel bad about not contributing monetarily to the book industry, since most of the books I read are borrowed. (I would need a much bigger house if I bought every book that I read!) I like Substack for the ability to pay an author for their work and have bought physical books from some of my favorite Substack newsletters as well.
I would add to your statement about every book on your shelf "at home" being a portal--I think library books can be even more of a portal since sometimes I think about the person who read it before me, or whoever will read it afterwards. I wish I could share my thoughts with them and hear theirs. There is more of a community aura around library books, though they are also more transient in your own life.
absolutely! that's something that hadn't occurred to me, but you're absolutely right. we lost something when virtual check-out replaced the KA-CHUNK of the 'Due Date' stamp, with the book's passport tucked inside the cover in its little pocket. but at least there's still the possibility of some ghostly marginalia.
i think a truly great library would make the most of the liminality of books and have an annual book séance around Halloween time, reading off the names of the obscure authors whose work is on the shelves and in danger of being forgotten. maybe i'll pitch that to my local...
Sounds like a fun event! I would love to see libraries give you the ability to connect with future or past readers (with permission from the other person, of course)
No one loves to go hunting for treasures in a used e-book store! ;)
Tangentially related, someone in the maelstrom that is Substack was pointing out that reading on a screen is inherently more of a surface activity than reading a printed book, which encourages deeper attention. (See? I can't even remember who said it!) I think there are studies that have shown this, though I don't notice much of a difference between my Kindle and a regular book. (I think the plain old Kindle Paperwhite does a pretty good job of imitating print, as opposed to a regular screen.)