Goodbye to Libraries?

Hello, and welcome to the blog! I'm glad you decided to stop by, even though today's post is a downer of epic proportions. We're talking about the potential dissolution of libraries as we know them. I don't know about you, but this makes me ultra sad. Libraries are the backbone of society, and you can find things at libraries you can't find elsewhere (yes, even with the advent of the internet and Google). If you're ready to get going, grab a blanket and a warm cup of coffee, and let's do this thing.

I'm not sure how much of the news you guys read, but this week, Baker & Taylor started to close their doors. Who is Baker & Taylor, you ask?

Well, they're the guys who sell books to libraries at crazy low prices. ReaderLink was set to buy them, but that deal seems to have fallen through, so Baker & Taylor is apparently now bankrupt. ReaderLink is the channel a ton of retail businesses purchase books through. That would've been an amazing sale, if you ask me.

With the rise of OverDrive, an apparently huge cyberattack, and the years of the Covid-19 pandemic, libraries were already struggling, but with this new shuttering of their book supplier, libraries are going to be in deep shit.

To add to Baker & Taylor's financial woes, OCLC issued a lawsuit you can find all the details of here. Apparently, there was some shady stuff going on, and they weren't okay with it. They'd reportedly issued a cease and desist regarding their WorldCat libraries, and they say it was ignored. Here's Baker & Taylor's response. Selling copies of books to libraries has always been a small-profit business, and if you ask me, that lawsuit is what shoved them over the edge.

Good job, guys! *eye roll*

I'm gutted. I know I spent many hours at the library while I was in college because it was resourceful and quiet, and they had books I needed to complete things like research papers. Checking stuff out is always free, and when I was growing up, it was a huge deal to get a library card. My sister worked at our local library when I was little, and she used to bring me in to check out books all the time (of course, I blazed through them like a possessed child). I believe I still have a couple of books we bought at one of their shelf-cleaning sales.

My daughter uses the library weekly. She reads like a glutton, too.

What will we do if libraries dissolve? Is anyone else worried about this, or is it just me? Is everyone depending on digital libraries? I can't read an ebook. My eyes hate them. I have to have a hard copy. What then? Do we all need to start building our own libraries? Should we resist selling copies of books we bought and start donating them?

WHAT IS THE ANSWER??

I'm sure I don't know. Any suggestions?

Thank you for stopping by! If this was your first time here, I apologize for the downer of a post. I promise you, they're not all like this. *yikes*

Well, that's all for today, folks!

Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo 

Finally, an Author Platform Just for Men

Hello, and happy Monday, everyone! I suppose you can kind of tell what today's post will be about, mainly, but I'm going to take a quick moment to catch you all up on what's been going on and why I didn't post last week. Boo! Let's just dive right into it, shall we?

So, a few weeks ago, hubby and I were in a car accident. We were rear ended and pushed into the car ahead of us (double slammy). I felt okay after a little bit, though I was a tad lightheaded, and my left shoulder was sore for about an hour. I'm well aware it sometimes takes a few weeks for things to show up, so I was hesitant to say I was good.

Well, last week, my left hand swelled between my ring and pinky fingers, and the fingers got so big, I took my wedding ring off and put it on my necklace for fear it would make things worse and end up needing to be cut off. That was a long sentence, but you see where I'm going with this.

I ended up on the couch with an ice pack, Aleve (don't tell my neurologist--she'll unalive me), and a remote control. Of course, I had my phone, so I was still browsing with my right hand (which is where I came across the linky that's the topic today). Now, it's still slightly painful, but I can type, so I'm back!

Not something I planned for, stupidly, so I missed posting all last week.

Now you know.

TODAY, however, I'd like to talk about this website that was just launched. News article here.

According to a poll I conducted a long (long) time ago, men dominated the reader preferences, so I have to ask myself: Why do they need a new website focused mainly on them?

Are you asking yourself the same question?

It appears women have taken over the publishing industry. According to the man in that article, " ... Most of the excitement and energy around new and adventurous fiction is around women authors ... "

My takeaway from reading the article is that it's believed that this needs to be corrected for some reason or another. Why is this a problem? Are women not allowed to have a bigger voice after being shushed for so long? Why do the males in this industry feel threatened in such a way?

I've seen some real stinkers and read some beautiful masterpieces by both sexes. In my humble opinion, more women have simply gravitated toward publishing the last ten years.

Could that have something to do with the Indie boom? I believe it has everything to do with it. Before, there were gatekeepers in the "Big 7" (now the Big 5) who were more likely to give those contracts to men. Now, a woman can simply write down her thoughts and publish them. Perhaps the female voice is what was missing in a mostly male-dominated industry, and it corrected itself.

I say it's about damned time the playing field was leveled in such a way. Perhaps it's not that males aren't being heard, but maybe it's that they don't tend to become writers these days as often as women do.

Label us bored housewives if you want, but we're crushing this publishing thing. I just can't believe a whole sex feels threatened enough by it to create a website focused on them and them alone.

What do you guys think about this? Is it a good thing? Pop on over, read that article (it's not long), and let me know your thoughts!

I, for one, am so excited to read more about how her boobs bounced boobily down the stairs. They say it's for masculine themes, but don't we just need more escapism? Books are entertainment, after all.

Well, that's all for today, folks!

Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo