I enjoy walking into a bookshop and looking at the shelves, how they are organized, what the latest books are, the bestsellers, taking a short look at the different sections as cooking, self-help, poetry, novels? Furthermore, people wandering around the bookshop call my attention as well; to be honest, bookshops only are full of people the days before Christmas. I have realized that now you can find teacups, bookmarks, magnifying glasses or even funs decorated with poems in the bookshops.
According to some surveys, conducted in UK but also in Spain, the reading habits are different depending upon the gender or the age. But all means, as all people can guess, women read more books than men, and the proportion of readers increase considerably with age. The most popular type of book bought is another aspect analyzed by the researchers, showing that cookery books, crime stories, and romantic novels are the favourites of readers. It must not be forgotten that the literary prizes increase sales of winners and finalists.
And although nowadays the discussion about e-books and piracy is opened, the truth is that the results of surveys support the statement that the number of books published has risen for the last 30 years in a similar way than the prices.
Due to my lack of knowledge of the world of publishing, I have always asked myself: do the writers write under inspiration or do they design a book for a specific readership? What are the reasons that make a book to become a bestseller, its quality or the marketing campaign?
We may also think over if young people are alienated from books, as the parents and teachers complain sometimes, but we leave this for another post.
I enjoy reading, and I have already told you about my relationship with books (Los libros de mi vida 12/01/15?http://brestandglory.com/es/los-libros-en-mi-vida/ ? ). Then, you that are reading this post: What book did you enjoy the most? What book captivated you? What book are you looking forward to reading? And above all, what book made you dream or inspired you? Do you like illustrated books? Leave a comment!
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Dear Glory,
Thank you very much for this interesting post. Like you, I’m also in love with books, but my problem is that I have little time to read about what it really moves me. These last few weeks I’ve only read papers and articles from my work. They’re very interesting for my work but I need something more than academic literature. Because of the lack of time, I’m now hooked on poetry, I always have five minutes before going to bed to read a poem. The last book I’ve read is called ‘Chatterton’ by Elena Medel, an awesome author who is from C?rdoba.
Thank you very much for writting comments. It is a good idea to read poems, if you like it I can recommend you “Luz sobre Luz” by Luce L?pez-Baralt. Short poems although amaizing. We may try to read poems in English, what do you think?
Dear Glory,
I have really enjoyed reading your blog. Though I am a physicist, I also love reading books and, during the last few years, I have mainly read English literature. As I am getting older every (other) year, I have grown a love for juvenile literature and learn to appreciate some books that are usually considered as “minor”, for instance, the Harry Potter series. (I must confess that I consider it very good literature.)
What book am I eagerly expecting? Probably, the final book of the “Kingkiller Chronicle” by Patrick Rothfuss, which may be released next year. If you have missed the first two books, “The Name of the Wind” and “A Wise Man’s Fear”, I assure you that they are worth the effort of reading them in English!
Antonio, I am glad you have comment my post, as you can see the blog was set up with another aim, however I can continue writing thanks to the english course we are invoved in. Besides, I am grateful to you for the advice about books, and I must say “Harry Potter” in original English version was also one of the books I enjoyed, I will try the ones you recomend me, nevertheless, before I have to read “Dubliners”, you know why.
Gloria, I also like to browse books shops, although now rarely can I do it. Anyway, last week and by pure chance in the more unexpectful book shop for this type of books (in the ariport!!) I have found Svetlana Alexievich’s (last Literature Nobel Prize, as I learnt in the ariport) “Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster”. I find it absolutely stunning, gorgeus! I am stuck! i have to consider to write a post about it in my blog
?Brilliant! I knew about her before going to Belarus, even so I didn?t read it. I would like to do, because probably it might allow us to get closer to this culture.
Hi Gloria!
I enjoyed your post very much! I share your feelings about bookshop and I particularly enjoy looking for them when I travel and finding out which is the coziest bookshop in the city I am visiting. What is your favourite bookshop outside Sevilla?
Thanks, Cristina. Actually I don?t know what to chose, however I remember that in Brest there was only one bookshop in the center of the town. One day I can write about it.