Demise of Print and Barbara Kingsolver

Was lucky enough to secure a ticket to see author extraordinaire Barbara Kingslover.  As we all know Ms. Kingsolver has written much beloved books such as "The Bean Trees," "Poisonwood Bible" and "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle."

Ms Kingsolver was entertaining and well spoken.  She was wonderful at pulling the audience into her daily writing life and the way she creates her novels.  For all budding, frustrated writers her description of her methodology of thinking out an idea, doing research and then committing the story to paper was a road map that hit its mark.   I could hear the muttering from the crowd as we were leaving: "She does research first!", "She is not always in control of her characters," "She loves to edit! She actually CUTS material!"

The audience questions were always bordering on reverence and the need to share how her books had changed their lives.  And one woman asked the key question of the evening:

"When you talk about a reader falling asleep while reading late into the night to last page and then the book, which has fallen on their face, becomes drenched with their tears, how do you feel about the Kindle?"

You could have heard a pin drop.  My seat mate had just showed me her kindle access on her iPhone.  I have written two blogs on the Demise of Print. We held our collective breath to hear the mistress of writing to hold forth on this topic.

"I am for reading in any manner that will allow for the magical world for stories to be read by the largest amount of readers.  What I am concerned about is the monopoly that Amazon created with the Kindle.  With the cost of a book down to $9.99, where is the revenue to support not just successful writers, but budding authors who need the advance to live on while they develop their next project and skill?  Where will the revenue come from to keep your independent book seller in business?"(paraphrased by the way)

I thought of all the wonderful books stores L.A. has lost in the last year.  Dutton's in Brentwood, Dutton's in North Hollywood, Book Soup and Skylight books are merging, and the only independent store left in my neighborhood is a rare book collector dealer with outrageous prices that I cannot afford.

I am as concerned as Ms. Kingsolver on the demise of a system that was perfected and efficient to nuture the budding talent hidden  within the vastness of the US.  Without the support and guidance and FUNDING to improve themselves via one advance after another what will stop the slide into mediocre literature?

My question now goes to Jeff Bezos of Amazon to ask him, how as a publisher, he intends to find, fund and nuture all those writers of passion and talent to continue creating the stories to entertain us.  Because in the end all any of us have that we most value are our stories!

Demise of Print, Part 2

Previously on Innerwealthspeakers blog, I covered my love of books and absolute rebellion towards the e-book concept.  The gist was that the e-book will dominate the printed book and how sad it will be for those of us who love them. That is until someone turns off the electricity.


Electricity powers our ability to read e-books, use cell phone, computers, and any modern invention that somehow fuels our lives. Without it, life comes to a stand still. Remember the movie, "The Day the Earth Stood Still?" (version from the 50s) when the aliens shut off all electricity and mayhem ensued?

Electricity is the new gold.  Where once governments funded teams of adventurers to find natural resources of wood, water, gold, fertile land and cheap labor,  electricity is the new replacement as the "most precious commodity" on earth.  Now the solar/wind scientists are racing each other to increase our electrical output.

Reading is the first of skills that you need to function in the electro-literate world. The second is learning new commands and navigation of the electricity-fueld organization of information.   Every time I log on to a new web site, I have to learn a new software. AHHH.....it is fueling my resistance to change greater than my natural resistance to change.

The demise of print does not stop with books. Newspapers, magazines, reviews, brochures, flyers, pamphlets, leaflets, treatise, yellow and white phone book pages filled with names, numbers and addresses, are all becoming obsolete. So how do you know you exist?


Can you really count yourself among the citizens as bona fide because you are stored electronically somewhere?  Will you be able to vote just because you have a chip in your birth certificate or passport or neck?

Will an electronic profile a server somewhere produce the kind of outburst similar to Steve Martin's in "The Jerk?" While holding the white pages he starts jumping around yelling "I am somebody! I'm in the PHONE BOOK!"

I ponder these questions as I am the last generation that bridges the gap between fully electronic and paper-based for the verification of my existence.


I never battle my kids time spent on the computer as I know they are developing their "electronic literacy" that prepares them for a future of 100% electronically based information of all types.

But as for me, I plan on becoming the dinosaur of my generation, comfortably installed in my little house lined with books that I can read at any time, rain or shine, electric lamp or candlelight and without the need to push a button to create a deeply ingrained joy!