The habit of reading and the misconception behind books:

A friend and I were discussing the other day about how reading is nothing more than a hobby. That it's something that needs to be developed, and honed. You can't just pick up a book, and start reading it. You have to give it some time, and develop the patience to do something like that. Only then, is it fun.

I recognized his understanding for what it is: A misconception in peoples minds that reading is for nerds. That it's not an exciting or adventurous journey that can be undertaken by anyone and everyone. It was a silly thing to try and do. I recognized it because I felt exactly the same way.

Until, I started writing myself.

People don't make movie watching a habit. They hear good reviews about it, and check it out. They then find that they either like it, or they don't. It's entertainment. The same can be said of dramas, sports, novels, music, and pretty much everything else. It's all entertainment.

The point I am trying to make is that reading is not a habit. But it has developed a bad reputation in people's minds that it's a boring thing. That it cannot entertain them. That when they read it, they will not be entertained. It's only for a group of snotty idiots who have nothing better to do.

That is both true, and completely untrue as well.

The publishing market estimates that the readership has remained the same over the years. No new people are taking up reading, and it is a dying market.

That's wrong.

The only reason that people are not reading is that there are no books that are being published that are reaching out to them.

Publishers, and agents are sitting on their heads scared shitless about the next thing they are going to publish and wondering if it will sell or not.

When Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy was introduced to me, I did not force myself to read it. I read the first few pages and discovered that I just could not put the book down. It was so damn hilarious. At that point, reading was not a hobby to me. I just casually glanced through it when a friend of mine was reading it. Point to be taken out of this: I was entertained.

That's the purpose of a book. To entertain.

There are many things that work for a book, that do not work in movies, and vice versa. Same as saying that things that work in plays, do not work in movies, and novels and vice versa.

For example, in plays, it's a common idea that actors talk to the audience. They break the forth wall. This is something that no movie, or book can do as effectively and still have the reader in suspended belief.

For books, the strongest point is the narration. The narrator's voice is all important, and like for the plays, cannot be used as effectively in movies and plays.

For movies, the live action is impeccable. You see it, so it is. It cannot be broken either.

Mangas, and graphic novels share the advantages of all three forms: plays, movies and novels, but to a lesser intensity.

As one can see, all forms have their strong points, and things that they can capitalize on. So all forms can be entertaining, and everyone can be entertained by all forms. But the only problem is that when people see their business being hit, they say things like oh no. My format is dying out and they complain, and brood without really finding out why it is suffering.

That's why, if publishers and agents looked into their business worlds and saw what they were doing wrong, they would see that the biggest problem is todays publishing industry is that there are not enough authors whose voices must be heard, and those whose books are published, don't get the attention they deserve because there's no easy way to find them, and there's no way to change the misconception in the people.

Thankfully, all this is about to change with the advent of kindle and apple's Ipad. By making books easy for people to find and access, the publishing houses and agents will have less say in what the people want to see, and the people in turn, will see why reading is so damn fun.

The publishers and agents need to break out of their mold and start displaying books that people will read. Instead of old stories, written by old authors, for people who still consider reading as a "habit."

More importantly, with the world becoming one, more and more people are getting introduced to English and so their potential market is only constantly increasing. They just need to find writers who write for what new age readers will read.

That's why Young adult is taking charge today. The revolution of the next generation is calling out, and no one can say a damn thing about it.

I recommend that the publishing houses get together and launch an advertising campaign that shows what's so damn interesting about books to increase public awareness that it's not a form of boring hungadoo.

It is purely entertainment.