Recommendations for good book related Magazines?

[jankensan]

P.S. BigWords, I agree entirely. Unfortunately the economic down turn is being blamed for a lot of things.

 

Personally I think the decline in book collecting as a hobby is that people aren't prepared to put the time in to it. I get great pleasure from it though. When I get a book in my head that I know I want, I love the thrill of the chase and will devote hours to locating the copy I specifically want. When you can go on amazon and buy almost any book you like without needing to put too much effort in, that's what people will do.

 

I love nothing more that hunting through auction house job lots, trawling ebay, scouring charity shops for the odd gem or two. About 6 months ago I found a first edition Stephen King for £2 in a Cancer Research shop. I was so thrilled I couldn't buy it fast enough. When I got it home and checked the price guide it was listed as £10 to £20. So not exactly a great find, but it was fun while it lasted. That's what it's all about for me. I think my family think I'm a bit loopy because I will spend hours searching through mass market paperbacks just to find that one hidden edition that might be something special.

 

It's a shame book collecter isn't carrying on. I didn't buy every issue, but I did always buy any that had guides in for areas I'm intereted in...

 

Of course when I want to read the latest trashy novel I will buy it as cheap as possible with the fastest delivery possible, but I think in general people don't have the time to invest in hobbies so much any more...What do you think?

[BigWords]

I'm still entirely unconvinced that the economic downturn (cited in the last issue) is to blame, so time investment and attention span seem to be the prime contenders for the real reason. Of course, this means that there is doubt over anyone brave enough to wade into the market with a substitute title now. I've been thinking about this for a while, letting the notion sink in, and it seems to me that the digital community is replacing traditional sources of information. The time investment is probably connected (though not inextricably linked, as some suggest) to the increase in hours people are working - people find time for their hobbies any way they can, and as companies are beginning to cut down on overtime this will see an increase in hobbies being taken up. I still can't square away any of the reasons for the circulation to drop to a point where continued publication of a leading title is considered uneconomical.

 

At some point I will begin looking for a replacement to satisfy my curiosity, but at the moment I'm relying on websites for details of forthcoming titles. Oh, and those "trashy" novels? There a reason I get them digitally where I can. The benefits of downloading titles over picking up physical copies of books lies (thus far) solely in titles with no lasting merit - not that they aren't fun to read - and which would in all likelihood be handed into a charity shop or some such. The best reason I can think of to buy books this way is that very often the author will take a bigger cut of the money.