The popularity of real books is reviving in the United States. In 2021, sales of paper books in the US market reached 828 million books, the highest ever since the survey began in 2004. Something strange is happening to e-books, which had been growing rapidly for a while. The share of e-books in total book sales has been declining since peaking in 2013 (28%). In addition, the number of people buying books online has increased dramatically, and more people are buying books on Amazon without going to bookstores. In the United States, Amazon, which sells books by mail at a lower price than regular bookstores, has emerged. The expansion of “bookstore deserts”, that bookstores disappear from towns, has sometimes been taken up as a social problem. But now, the younger generation who have used Amazon are creating a new scene of enjoying bookstore tours.
The “digital generation” is always immersed in digital devices such as computers and smartphones. The younger generation, known as the “digital generation”, tends to prefer paper. In a highly information-driven society, our abilities will decline if we are constantly bombarded with a mixture of good and bad information. In a highly information-driven society, we need to carefully select the information we come into contact with. It is wise to view the information in front of us not as an independent point, but as an element in a flow or structure. The ability to think with carefully selected knowledge is directly connected to the ability to live. It seems that young people are beginning to realize this obvious fact.
Human creativity comes from advanced language skills. The ability to create new interpretations is obtained by placing oneself in a different social or cultural position. Reading is a tool that easily leads people to different positions. There are times when we have negative feelings, and times when we have positive feelings. It seems that moving forward in a positive direction from these conflicts is a productive way of life. We can satisfy our desire for knowledge while improving our language skills. Reading satisfies our desire for knowledge. This gives rise to a sense of pleasure. Satisfying our desire for knowledge and feeling pleasure leads to a broadening of our worldview. The best part of reading is that the satisfaction of our desire for knowledge, the pleasure it gives, and the expansion of our worldview continue like a spiral staircase.
As a supplement, the other day I looked at the opening of The Prince by Machiavelli. There, I found the following passage: “Those who wish to receive the favor of a prince always bring with them what the prince finds most valuable and ask for an audience. These may be swift horses, weapons, jewels, etc.” I realized that people who think the same as President Trump have existed since the 1500s. Now, they seem to be bowing down to America, saying, “Build factories in America and secure jobs for American people. By reading the book, I learned that dictators’ minds haven’t changed in over 500 years.
