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The lanky teenage boy sneered in disgust and stood his ground. Enough was enough. Not only had he been forced to endure the humiliation of accompanying his parents through a busy shopping precinct but now they were piling on the embarrassment, pleading with him to cross a dangerous threshold into a loathsome new world.
"I'm not going in there," said the boy. He folded his arms across his chest. His face reddened as he stared defiantly at his father. "I'll get brain damage if you make me go in there."
The father shrugged and smiled. "It's just a bookshop, mate. It won't bite."
It was a classic generational showdown.
Outside: Sullen kid on footpath stares at phone, a junkie desperately craving his next dopamine hit, hurriedly scrolling through endless videos of cats on skateboards and wannabe models twerking oversized, silicone-injected butts.
Inside: Nostalgic parents of sullen kid vanish happily behind shelves brimming with books.
An intervention was required. I marched outside, grabbed that kid by the collar and dragged him into the bookshop. "Get in here you whiny little loser," I snarled. "See these books? Meet the original Influencers. Did you know books can take you to more exotic places than YouTube and Instagram? Did you know you can find far more interesting, angry and even demented people on these pages than you'll ever encounter on Twitter?"
I lie. Of course I didn't confront that kid. I just have an overactive imagination thanks to a lifetime of reading. I can invent vivid scenarios in my head because books encourage creativity. Yes, I am one of those smug book snobs who looks down their nose at all the zombies addicted to the brief bursts of gratification dispensed to them by social media.
But lifelong book enthusiasts like me can get it wrong. Just like Apple founder Steve Jobs famously did 15 years ago when he declared: "It doesn't matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don't read anymore."
Turns out that kid standing contemptuously outside the bookshop recently was not representative of his generation at all. Believe it or not, books are back. Big time. My son, a digital native, is devouring novels on his Kindle. My 20-something daughters have rediscovered the delights of reading. So, too, has my wife.
What makes this revival more remarkable is that it is being driven not by pompous relics like me, but by younger people.
Australian book sales soared by more than 7 per cent last year, mirroring a worldwide trend that began before the coronavirus pandemic and which is now reaching levels not seen in more than two decades.
In the US, where 300 new bookstores have opened since the middle of 2020, Barnes and Noble is opening another 30 stores this year. The great irony no-one saw coming is how social media has driven this stunning resurrection of the publishing industry.
The most influential player is the controversial Chinese short-form video platform TikTok. Its #BookTok subcommunity has garnered more than 100 billion views and is responsible for launching the careers of thousands of new authors while reviving the fortunes of older ones who long ago resigned themselves to watching their work fill remainder bins.
A classic example is Madeleine Miller's The Song of Achilles and its gay love story about Achilles and Patroclus. It won awards and rave reviews for its literary style when first published in 2011. But it took a series of #BookTok reviews a decade later to catapult it to the top of the best-seller lists.
#BookTok reviewers are young and passionate. They shy away from the cerebral, preferring to discuss the emotional impact of a book. Some deliver their reviews sobbing over passages of writing, a far cry from the staid and dry prose of many traditional reviewers whose heads long ago disappeared into parts of their anatomy not normally reached by bedside reading lamps.
Young Adult and fantasy titles might be partly behind the renewed surge in book sales. But what's important is that younger people are discovering the timeless quality books offer that social media cannot.
Books encourage you to think rather than consume and forget. Characters in novels spring to life but appear and sound different to every reader. Even better, the pages of books are never covered in the distracting digital graffiti - the constant notifications, pop-up ads and chatbots - of social platforms.
Books are back. And it turns out we have a shallow medium like social media to thank for making them substantial again.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Have you rediscovered the joy of reading? Do you rely on social media to find decent book recommendations? What are you reading at the moment that you would recommend to fellow Echidnas? Email your response to echidna@theechidna.com.au.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- China's top diplomat in Australia says speculation about spying through China-made surveillance devices and China-linked social media apps like TikTok is "very unhelpful" and the two nations should be able to trust each other. Ambassador Xiao Qian revealed he had protested to the Albanese government over the removal - on national security grounds - of security cameras and recorders made by companies such as Hikvision and Dahua from departments and agencies, as well as the TikTok ban on any phone or computer used by politicians and public servants.
- Controversial former Liberal minister Stuart Robert has formally resigned from federal Parliament. Mr Robert, who announced he would step down earlier this month, has now tendered his resignation, triggering a by-election in his Gold Coast seat Fadden.
- Smith's Original and Cheese and Onion chip packets are being recalled due to the possible presence of plastic pieces. The affected Original chips have been available for sale at Woolworths, Coles and other independent and convenience stores in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
THEY SAID IT: "Books are a uniquely portable magic." - Stephen King.
YOU SAID IT:
Steve asked what pandemic habits had stuck with you.
Alan's habits have changed over time: "For a long while I kept wearing a mask out shopping, especially in supermarkets, but few others did once the restrictions were lifted. I have now become lazy and no longer wear one, although I do find myself consciously avoiding people front on, tending to duck-and-weave around them."
But Monica is keeping to her COVID plan. "I always say 'bless you', I still wear a mask and for some reason I sneeze when I have my first sip of white wine."
So too is Hilary: "Until the pandemic is truly over there will be no change in my habits. I carry an N95 respirator with me whenever I leave home and I wear it whenever I'm near others. I keep well away from people even at an outdoor cafe and the mask is on until the coffee is delivered."
Robin says being in a married couple with one partner immunocompromised, she and her husband are playing it very safe: "After a lifetime of volunteering we no longer do any. We have dropped out of serving on committees, no longer attend meetings in person, especially because we are unable to know about the air quality in the rooms. We no longer browse in shops and shopping malls - just go early to avoid crowds, then be in and out as quickly as possible. We cut our own hair now, without any visits to hairdressers. No more visits to cafes for coffee or lunches, unless there are outside tables."
Rose thinks, probably correctly, it's a generational thing. "I think our generation will feel the effects the longest. The youngsters will move on."