BESTSELLERS--who actually buys these things?

by Terry 22 Replies latest jw friends

  • Terry
    Terry

    I keep hearing how people now prefer to read e-books rather than buying paperbacks (much less the hardbacks) and I wonder

    if this is a trend.

    I spoke to the manager of Half Price Books where I use to work. She said they are worried about the business model.

    If fewer people buy tangible books it stands to reason eventually there will be none to fill the shelves of used bookstores.

    In a world where you can't kill the vinyl LP could there actually be an extinction event for books?

  • Violia
    Violia

    We buy political books. We enjoy reading them. I don't watch as much political TV /radio as I used to b/c it is exhausting.

  • Terry
    Terry

    There is a dovetail between Religion and Politics which begins with very STRONG OPINIONS and a hard-headed ideological mindbent.

    Snap judgments occur.

    Knee-jerk reactions kick in.

    An unwillingness to listen is automatic.

    The binary "Us" vs "Them" is endemic.

    None of it is objectively examined more than once. Which is to say, after you believe something is true you never really examine it for real ever again.

    I have tried in the past to read books that categorically go against my opinions. I've tried watching TV news and opinion reporting biased in

    opposites to compare how arguments are presented.

    There is alot of mischaracterization, strawman and ad hominem--that's for certain.

    Well reasoned arguments and debate are far more interesting that listening to pontification. At least for me at this stage of life.

    I'm fascinated by how ideas are transmitted and how they are blocked.

    Must be due to my disillusionment with Jehovah's Witnesses, eh?

  • Violia
    Violia

    http://www.amazon.com/Charles-Krauthammer/e/B001KIFZJM

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/authors/charles_krauthammer/

    Charles Krauthammer is worth reading. He is very intelligent. He was a liberal and became conservative, but he is moderate and interesting to read. his personal life story ( found on Wiki) is worth reading too. I enjoy his columns.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Krauthammer

  • OnTheWayOut
    OnTheWayOut

    I thought that was rather shameless self-promotion- mentioning the idea of your thread title to lead to recommending your own book.

    I should add a chapter about it in this one:

    http://www.amazon.com/Fade-Truth-Learning-Unlearning-Witnesses/dp/147523001X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385502512&sr=1-2&keywords=fade+from+the+truth

    or Kindle version:

    http://www.amazon.com/Fade-Truth-Learning-Unlearning-Witnesses-ebook/dp/B007XAMTCW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385502512&sr=1-1&keywords=fade+from+the+truth

    BTW, I need customer reviews if you read it.

    To be less shameful than Terry, those books he mentions (including his own) need costumer reviews also.

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    Look what happened to horses at the advent of the automobile. There was a drastic reduction in their population, but they are still around.

    There are trains; there are planes.

    Radio did not die with the introduction of Television, but it changed. Radio stations struggle to stay solvent, and must know their market. Radio announcers are nomads to stay working.

    Telegraph poles were repurposed for telephone lines.

    I think books will go arty. Graphic novels. Book stores will sell well...anything. They are selling the experience.

    Used book stores may have to broaden their content, and sell the experience too. Coffee around a fireplace. Paper books will go vintage, then antique.

    Pedal Powered Unknitter

    Pedal powered un-knitter.

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    I recalled a technology virtually gone; the bluenose schooner. They are around now as pleasure boats, floating schools, and museums.

    Bluenose Schooner

  • Violia
    Violia

    the half price book store I frequented a few years ago had a massage table. I hope they start selling coffee etc. I love browsing book stores. They carry music , interesting gifts and tarot cards.

  • Terry
    Terry

    I thought that was rather shameless self-promotion- mentioning the idea of your thread title to lead to recommending your own book.

    I'm not so sure I should be ashamed. Why would I be?

    I've been writing for free as good as I can write for the last 8 years and there have been constant requests for me to write a book

    about my prison experiences.

    Well, I finally wrote it and only people who know about it and want it will buy it.

    I think that's fair.

    But, shame? Nope, sorry--I just don't see it.

  • AudeSapere
    AudeSapere

    I think we all need to learn how to self-promote. It's part of how we advance in careers and life, too.

    A thread I'd really like to see is a list of all the posters here who have written books. All in one thread. The authors can promote, promote, promote away.

    Bryan - Have You Seen My Mother?

    Living the Dream - Journey to God's House

    Rebel8 - (forget the name)

    Estee - (forget the name)

    Terry - I Wept by the Rivers of Babylon

    On the Way Out - Fade Truth Learning Unlearning (Is this the only one? Title is not familiar. I bought your ebook but it got deleted before I read it and then I lost my Kindle.)

    I know there's bunches of others. Seems like 3 or 4 a year(??)

    Maybe someone can start a new thread with a listing of our book-writing boardmates...?

    -Aude.

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