In the wake of recent global uprisings on the Black Lives Matter movement, people have turned to books about and written by black people to further educate themselves on the subject. Perhaps the article could talk about a list of books that sheds light on the topic, and why the book is relevant today. While I can think of a list of authors such as Alice Walker, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin and a few others, it might be interesting to see a list of both classic and contemporary books that are worth reading and why. It might also be interesting to do a research on lesser known authors or books/short stories published by anonymous sources and look into why you think they were anonymously published or why you think the author/the work did not recieve as much attention as it should have.
Good topic! I'd add some recent YA offerings by black authors or featuring black characters. Actually, you could probably write a whole article on that genre alone. – Stephanie M.4 years ago
As a Black writer, especially of speculative fiction, I would love for a piece like this to shed some light on some of the hidden gems of Black speculative fiction that would be of particular value in this historical moment. I'm sure just exploring this singular angle would be more than enough for a piece on its own. – therisingtithes4 years ago
Great topic! I love Zora Neale Hurston's writing, but her strengths lie in how she depicts folk culture and daily life, not in her politics. (Hurston has been soundly criticized from her time to our present time for an apparent lack of political awareness, in fact.) She's nowhere near as relevant to the Black Lives Matter movement as, say, James Baldwin. – JamesBKelley4 years ago
With free time opening up for a lot of people due to current circumstances, there is plenty of time to read and focus on self-development. Books shape our lives and influence us whether or not we choose to recognize that. Personally, I’m always looking for book recommendations, so perhaps an article could be written about books that deeply impacted you or books that have been well-received in general. They could range from books that developed you spiritually, fictional books that helped you learn the art of writing, or memoirs that shifted your mindset. A diverse selection of book genres and the ways in which they impacted readers would be interesting. You could also touch on the messages, lessons, and themes that made the book resonate with you or readers in general. Recommend books that people will connect with and explain why they altered your life in some way.
Just to add also, I think an article like this should try to be as diverse as possible. As in, don't select 5 books that make you feel more optimistic, for example. Pick one that made you look at the world more optimistically (a sad memoir maybe). Pick one that convinced you to read more (YA literature is good for this - it is literature that is easily consumed and is a good starting point for a lot of people who don't like to read). Maybe choose a text that is political or subverts a master narrative of history, something that opens the reader's eyes to an important aspect of the past. These are just examples of course, I just want to stress that an article like this should avoid sameness. – Samantha Leersen4 years ago
Sometimes this theme, which I've seen before, can be addressed by discussing a book that is read and then re-read at different points in one's life to see how a reader understands a book the second time around. – Joseph Cernik4 years ago
Discuss the history of books, moving from paperback to online. Consider what kind of options these new online books give people, and explore your own preference as to physical paperback books or books online, on your phone, or on an e-reader. Also reflect on how this industry can expand- can/will it? Will we ever see the end of paperback books, or is that, at the end of the day, what we will always return to?
I was completely against e-readers until I witnessed how quickly I could have a book in the palm of my hands. No matter the time, within seconds, the book was mine to relish--and that is how I personally became hooked on the e-reader. Do I still buy paperbacks, of course! The Strand Bookstore in NYC is my favorite place (especially the $1 vendors located outside the store!!) and I will never cease visiting this treasure trove of books that are impossible t find at the big name book sellers. Another plus about e-readers is the ability to search a word or phrase. In mere seconds, you can see how many times a word was used throughout the novel, or find the quote your professor was referring to that you forgot to mark off in your paperback. Personally, I find it much easier to read from print books, and I do feel I absorb more information. As a previous graduate student, I would also buy the ebook to look up information in a quick fashion when writing papers. Also, with things such as kindle unlimited for $8.99, a month, an e-reader is the way to go. $9 a month, and you can read 30 books in a month, if you choose?! – danielle5778 years ago
To danielle577, I love your passion! I truly wish I could say I feel the same way, though. I really do. E-books are so easy, and the question of e-reader vs. print has been present in my mind for years now. There's something to the palpability of paper that I can't be without. Maybe mine is the emotional argument, where yours makes the most sense and has the most benefits! And for the record, thanks for your love of the Strand. I'm a fellow New Yorker and the Strand is truly wonderful. It's a shame that type of book culture isn't too common anymore. – elroddavid8 years ago
I feel that the best way to resolve the preference for paper or digital is to combine both into one product. For instance, keep the pages but incorporate the digital technology into the book front and rear cover, which are usually thicker than the pages anyway. This would give readers the best of both worlds, for the time being until another way of delivering content is reinvented. – L:Freire6 years ago
Game of Thrones, Outlander, Netflix's Jessica Jones, and Netflix's Daredevil: these are some examples of books and comic books that are now being put into a television series rather than a film. It seems to be a new trend. What are the merits of having a book series represented through television rather than a single film (such as Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings)? Is one better? Is this a natural progression of the new trend of splitting a book into two or three movies (think Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows or The Hobbit)? Is the age of one-book-to-one-film over? If so, is that a good thing?
Is television or film adaption better? it depends on the book or comic itself and how detailed and complex it is. The only difference between film and television is that the story in a television show can take its time while a movie has to fit everything into at least a 2 hour adaption for the audience to be satisfied. Another reason is if the book or comics film rights were bought by a major conglomerate, the writers and producers would have to convince the studio to do either one. For Game of Thrones, G.R.R. Martin created an intricate world that would not have been able to translate well into a film adaption, while Lord of the Rings is similar but is compiled into three books, so it made the trilogy easier for a film adaption, with the prequel, the Hobbit, which made them a lot of money and was stretch out. Is it a good thing? I believe so, because many television adaptions can stay true to the books and comics or take a completely different direction which creates an alternate universes that many fans enjoy, one example is The Walking Dead, they follow the storyline but they have changed a couple of things due how well they can translate the story visually and budget. and is the one book to film over? No, because there are stand alone novels that the film studios have acquired and will capitalize on, one example is Jojo Moyes, Me Before You, featuring the khaleesi herself, Emilia Clarke. – Angelina918 years ago
How has the rising popularity in Kindle and ebooks hindered the print medium? Will physical hardcover and paperback books someday go into extinction? While Kindles appeal to the younger, hipper audience, paperbacks still seem to retain a sort of traditional class. Why? Even though they both have their arguable pros and cons, what will become of printed works in the near and long-term future?
The funny thing is, the content of this article would likely have been different less than a year ago. Kindle sales seemed to skyrocket for a while, but as I understand it, paperbacks are now on the rise again. From my own standpoint, I do better electronically so I wonder if the target age group has an effect on that. – mattdoylemedia9 years ago
This is such an interesting topic as it becomes increasingly relevant. A lot of people these days have e-readers and a lot of the time ebooks are cheaper. But there is diffidently a core community that love their books more than ebooks. I personally use both. – Hpfan289 years ago
On the other end, the sudden rise in the e-reader brought attention to reading in general, so in a sense it helped the book world as a whole, including paperbacks. – LaRose9 years ago
I personally prefer printed books over an electronic source, but that's just me. My mom used to work for a book manufacturing company and she would often talk about how their business took a hit after the release of Kindles and Nooks. I have a Nook myself, but never use it. I feel like the people younger than me, who grew up with a lot of technology at their finger tips, enjoy eBooks more just because they are used to things like that. – diehlsam9 years ago
From your particular stance, I feel that ebooks will eventually dominate the publishing sector. Not necessarily because it is the way of the future, but that it is one solution that avoids the destruction of many trees. It is appearing in other parts of life: recycling to regulate waste, solar energy to eliminate detrimental emissions, so on, so forth. I guess: eventually people will just have to use an ear device or eyeglasses of some sort to tune into satellite transmissions as a form of reading material. – L:Freire6 years ago
