How many books do you read a year? How many books are written in a year? If you were to read all of them, how long would it take?
We live in an age of endless media. There is radio, television, video games and so much more. If a person were confined to only one, they might never run out. So, why would anybody choose a novel?
It’s long in a society that favors instant gratification. It’s abstract in a society that prefers concrete sensation. It’s old in a society that craves brand new everything.
We forget, but there was a time only a few millennia ago when none of these desires could be met. People didn’t have the written word, they had to draw on a poetic tradition. This was older, more abstract and at times longer than our novels.
Still, it fell out of favor. Have you ever met a rhapsode or a skald? I haven’t. I’ve met a few poets, and while their work is fascinating, it remains somewhat of a novelty.
People don’t crave this medium as much as they used to, and if one were to follow this trend, they wouldn’t like novels either. Yet, it remains a lucrative industry. Why?
There could be many causes, and any speculation is oversimplification. However, an argument could be made that books provide slow contemplation in a world that doesn’t cater to this need.
To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with instant gratification. Also, it would be a lie to say other forms of art, like movies or paintings, can’t create similar feelings to novels. Ultimately, the artist and their mastery over their medium is what matters. However, as a trend, it seems books are providing this slower, longer experience.
For instance, the shortest audiobooks tend to be 10 hours long. Many are 20, and a few can get up to 60. It’s a project to consume them.
Video games can take a similar amount of time to complete, if not longer. For me, they can also feel like a project.
So what differentiates them? Books are typically written by one person. They tend to have a cohesive vision behind them. Trying to do that in a large-scale game requires excellent team management, and it’s harder to achieve.
In my own experience, this tends to result in a focus on mechanics over theme, which isn’t bad. However, it feels like mastering a skill rather than analyzing a work, which is a different type of project.
