The Beauty of a Print Book
I, for one, am glad to see that readers like me continue to read and buy physical books in droves.
I recently read an article that mentioned how Barnes & Noble is expanding its physical locations this year. As we continue to see more and more in-person stores continue to close their doors, this is quite a phenomenon—especially since, for so many years, it felt like we were seeing bookstore after bookstore shutdown. While I’m always a fan of supporting local indie bookstores, this news from Barnes & Noble means that indie bookstores likely will see a rise in popularity as well. A city that hasn’t had a Barnes & Noble in over a decade is going to have one once more, and shopping centers that had a Barnes & Noble once upon a time are going to have one again.
This is good news if you’re a reader (and even more so if you’re a writer!)
While the pandemic ruined a lot of things, and the same can be said for social media, one thing that ended up with a net gain after the past few years is reading. More people discovered the endless hours of entertainment a book can provide while they were locked away and social distancing, and the even better news is that this discovery wasn’t temporary. With the help of TikTok (yes, even TikTok—you know some of this boom is at least in part due to BookTok), more readers are finding books that they love and flocking to buy those books. And, notably, choosing to buy physical copies of those books.
As a book lover, this makes me very, very happy.
There’s just something about holding a new or used book in your hands and turning each page to find out what happens next. There’s beauty in the layout of a page and in the way each chapter starts out with a flourish.
I understand the draw of an eBook—my little apartment can’t hold too many more physical books before every shelf is full—but I will always be a hardcover girl at heart. Paperbacks are fine, too, but there’s something so classically academic about a hardcover book (without the dust jacket—I know that might be a controversial opinion, but I have to physically hold myself back from throwing the dust jacket away when I get a new hardcover.)
As a writer, this makes me quite happy, too.
Barnes & Noble deciding to open some 30-odd new physical locations this year is a reason to rejoice for writers, too. A massive conglomerate like Barnes & Noble puts tons of market research (and money) into making decisions like this. They aren’t going to invest in opening so many stores, stocking them full of (beautiful, beautiful) books, and hiring staff if there won’t be a payoff.
This means that Barnes & Noble, with all of their industry professionals who know the ins and outs of these sorts of things, thinks that people are going to keep buying books. They think more people are going to keep buying books, in-person, if they’re willing to expand so dramatically across the country.
Again, this is good news! This means that there will continue to be a market to sell stories—stories like what you, and me, are writing. Stories that will grab agents, then editors, and finally readers. Stories that those readers will buy at their local bookstore, in-person.
The literary world isn’t shrinking—at least not for now. So take that as the win that it is, and, most importantly:
Never. Stop. Writing.
Here are the places my words have ended up since I last wrote:
Introducing Romance Lovers Anonymous published in Romance Lovers Anonymous
So You Think You Can Podcast republished on my blog
I started a publication on Medium! If you’re unfamiliar with how publications work, I won’t bore you with the details, but I will share a bit about this publication and what it’s meant to be. As you may already know if you read the first story I published above in the “new this week” section, the publication is called Romance Lovers Anonymous. It’s a place where I’ll share all sorts of thoughts about romance novels, movies, and romance in general. I’m super excited to start sharing more and writing more about romance—my favorite genre (and the one I write.) Find out more by clicking below:
I’m currently reading Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. This book was the next pick for my book club, and I’m really enjoying the novel so far. The story is very different than many others I’ve read, and primarily explores sibling relationships (with several unexpected twists and turns along the way.) I’m just about finished, and so far would wholeheartedly recommend it!