Could the recession be good for book sales? Wouldn't that be nice!

The celebrated novelist Ethan Canin, at the [book] expo to promote his new book, "America America," believes the staggering economy will foster interest in books. "Movies cost half as much, but books last five times as long, so they're a bargain," he said. "I think this could be good for everyone, in a way. What with the price of gas, everyone I know is riding bicycles more, and even the teenagers I know are backing away from Facebook and MySpace and all that stuff, saying they want something more substantial. Who knows? This recession could be a blessing in disguise for books and for people in general."

I swiped this graph from "Would you like some books with that tote bag?" an article on Salon.com by Laura Miller.

View the entire article here.

Comments

[KatiN.]

Congrats on the new blog, Christina.

As far as being a good time to be an writer, I think that's a no-brainer. Recession or no, 1 in 4 Americans is retiring (ie., baby boomers). Retired people have more time on their hands and likely to spend their extra time reading (for personal growth and for/to their grandkids).

If I were a new writer just getting started, I would angle myself to ride the gray wave.