Prompt Week 16

Both of our readings this week talk about the culture of reading and the future of the book. So I have two questions for you as readers, pulling on your own experiences and all of the readings we have done over the semester: First, how have reading and books changed since you were a child, for you specifically?

The biggest change I have seen for me personally, is the growth of Young Adult Fiction. When I "graduated" from the Children's Section of the library there wasn't a teen section. I moved straight from children's fiction to adult fiction. As an adult I really value the growth of this genre and what is provides for our youth.

Second, talk a little about what you see in the future for reading, books, or publishing - say 20 years from now. Will we read more or less, will our reading become more interactive? What will happen to traditional publishing? This is  a very free-form question, feel free to wildly extrapolate or calmly state facts, as suits your mood!

I believe all reading will be done electronically for a couple of reasons. First, publishing books electronically and not on paper saves an immense amount of resources. This includes paper, energy and much more. Secondly, the transfer of data will be much more efficient, a book could go through the publishing process much quicker.

I can also see people that struggle with reading getting more assistance through audio and a learning/teaching feature opening up reading to many more people. I think technology will also allow books to be easily translated into other languages as well.

I could see the addition of virtual reality to reading making it an immersive experience. I think many readers would enjoy being able to experience the World of Harry Potter or Star Wars for instance. I look forward to seeing what the future brings to reading.