That’s right. Now is the Golden Age of Books. Especially those dealing with everyday issues.
Some consider the 1930’s as the Golden Age of Books. But that all depends upon who you asked.
If you look at the past, you will see that 55%- 66% of the population were not reading books mainly because of the high illiteracy rate. Many adult couldn’t read in the 1930’s. Reading was still considered a privileged bestowed on the rich and well-to-do.
It’s not hard to see that it was the innovation of Self-published and Small Press is what reeled the crowd in.
I think it’s because the Indies and Small Press aren’t so restricted as to what they write about and publish.
The Indies and Small Press aren’t catering to the elitists. If you want to, among the Indies and Small Press, you can find a book on anything you want to read about. The styles and story lines are so wide that there’s a book on just about any subject. You always can a find a book to suit your taste. Whereas in the past, the only books you found were those per-selected by certain people. Which may or may have not been your taste.
Most Indies writes about things everyday people wants to read and can relate to. I believe that accounted for the explosion in book readership when the kindle reader was introduced in 2007.
If the story is old and fictional it’s written from angle no one heard of before it’s most likely an Indie or Small Press.
Remember, years ago many small areas didn’t have book stores and the only way to find a book was at the local grocery store or library. Therefore you had to read whatever was ordered. These are the people being reached now.
Some might view the Indie Press and Small Press world is a mess but how can it be so if they are getting people to read who normally wasn’t reading?
It wasn’t that people couldn’t read; by 1940, UNESCO estimated that 95 percent of adults in America were literate. No, it’s just that the vast majority of adults were not considered to be part of the cultural enterprise of book publishing. People read stuff (the paper, the Bible, comic books), just not what the publishers were putting out.
unholypursuit
The Novel: UnHoly Pursuit: Devil on my Trail 
I love this take! That’s such a great point.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
The feeling is mutual.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I grew up in a small, middle-European town before the invasion of television. Traditional values were still firmly ingrained in the day-to-day affairs of the townspeople. We had two libraries, one for the Catholics and one for the Protestants (let us not get into that here) and three bookshops, satisfying the intellectual demands of ten thousand citizens. Without fail, one recognised the bookshelf’s prominent position when entering people’s homes. Out of curiosity, I revisited the town after nearly fifty years. The bookshops and most of the once thriving commercial premises had disappeared, not to mention the libraries. A new public library had emerged in its place, not with many books on display but well decked out for technological savvy.
The bookshelves in people’s homes still retained their status symbol, but they now appear more extensive, decorative, and colourful.
The interest has obviously changed, with those with an expressive bend joining increasingly creative writers groups, and it seems there are now more writers than readers.
On a second note, the rise in book sales might be related to the large influx of baby boomers entering retirement age. People who had grown up when it was still fashionable to read books in school.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for giving us an insight into another era. Sounds a lot like where I grew up, minus the two libraries, one for the Catholics and one for the Protestants. In my neighborhood we had one library and everyone visited it. I think children will develop and maintain the love of reading if taught to love books.
In America, rarely does modern homes have a bookshelf. That’s sad.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Small Press and Indies take freedom to make a story special whereas a big press sticks to a certain genre. When you look at their name you already know what genre the story will follow. For example when you see a book published by Harlequin, you know it’s going to be a romantic story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
True.
LikeLike