Will anyone read in fifty years from now?

Will anyone read in fifty years from now?

May 11

Check this out, one in four people read NO books last year.

I have a tough time understanding that, but that isn’t really what I want to write about.

As a writer, these numbers make me think.

• Of the people who do read, the average was seven books a year. SEVEN.
• The most avid readers are older females.
• Fewer than 5 percent listed horror, scifi, speculative as books they’d read. I care about these because they’re what I write.

So, I can’t help but think about what this means for writers and publishing. If older people tend to read the most, then will the numbers of books read drop even further in the future, as the internet generation ages?

Will new technologies, like the kindle, replace books or bring younger people back to reading with the attraction of a cool gadget? Will they do both? Neither?

How possible is it for a writer to make a living in this market?

Will books as we know them even exist in a few decades?

I obviously don’t know the answers to these questions, but I have my own opinions. I don’t see brick and mortar bookstores going away any time soon. No Amazon or e-book can match the atmosphere of a good bookstore. Well, at least I hope they’re not going anywhere!

I’m curious. How many books have you read in the last month?

Here is my list

• Lynn Viehl’s Dark Need
• Plot and Structure by James Bell
• Encyclopedia of Knitting by Donna Kooler
• A historical novel about Bloody Mary. That author and title completely escape me, and I’m too lazy to go digging.

I’ve also started reading the Cluetrain Manifesto online.

O.K., everyone. What are you reading?