Growing Interest In Books In America

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28765, 10 December 1958, Page 13

Growing Interest In Books In America

ISpectaUy written for N.Z.P.A..

by

FRANK OLIVERA

NEW YORK, Dec. 9. The United States is becoming a nation of readers of books. For years this country has lagged behind some European countries, particularly Britain, as a consumer of the written word between hard covers—to which should probably now be added semi-hard covers, because the cheap reprint is becoming increasingly popular. The American book trade expects 1958 to be a record year for book sales—about 10 per cent, more than last year, which set new records.

An annual general survey for the Book Publishers’ Council indicates that this year general book sales will total £337,000,000. “Maybe,” says one spokesman for the trade, “we have more eggheads than we thought. The United States is rediscovering the book store.” The recession set back the sale of books as it did of almost everything else. Had it not done so, 1958 might have been a book year to wonder at. It is clear to any observer that these days book shops are crowded. This would not be noteworthy in London, but it is in a country which gave birth to the joke about the husband and wife discussing a wedding present. “Give her a book,” says the husband. “We can’t,” returns the wife, “she already has one.” Most booksellers credit ever increasing book sales to a new thirst for knowledge and for entertainment. People have more time to themselves, more leisure, and utilise some of it reading.

In this land of the go-getter it was not uncommon, some years ago, for a man or woman to feel slightly ashamed, as if confessing to laziness, to be found with a book until the evening. But all that has changed. In New York subways, for instance, during the morning journey to the office, several people read newspapers, but greater numbers seem to be buried in a paper-back, reprint or original', and it is the same on buses and on commuter trains. ‘ 'Cultural Explosion” One publishing house, American Heritage, explains its existence and its growth by the thesis that the United States is “off on a cultural explosion” and is avid in its search for knowledge. This house started in 1954 a magazine of history, and today has a 300,000 circulation for a more or less “highbrow” publication published between hard covers. Its new ‘‘highbrow” magazine, started this year, published between hard covers, and costing 18 dollars for six issues, already has a subscription list of 160,000. Everywhere, says a bookseller the quest for knowledge is apparent—books on history, art and science are selling like the proverbial hot cakes. Sales of poetry, drama and fiction, though good are not, however, increasing at the same rate. One publisher says parents are taking a more serious interest in their children’s reading and buying more and more expensive books for them. More and more books are given as gifts. paper-backs Paper-back sales are Increasing rapidly and tapping hitherto unsuspected markets. A few years ago paper-backs were either “whodunits” or flamboyant Action selling for 25 cents each. Now it is hard to And anything under 35 cents, and most paperbacked books of any literary value sell anywhere from 90 cents to two dollars. There are bookshops now which sell nothing but paper-backs. All publishers now seem to have paper-back subsidiaries, even the university presses. The success of paper-back sales has prompted more than one publisher to issue originals in this form —with added success. Most universities and colleges have book stores attached, and sales of paper-backs through them have, says one authority, been “explosive.” One paper-back publisher reports distributing 10 million paper-backs at 25 and 35 cents to pupils through school classrooms in a year. Some hard-cover book publishers are quarrelling with the expensive paper-backs which sell for anywhere from one dollar to two dollars, claiming that paperbacks at two dollars eat into the sale of hard-cover books. To some extent this may be true, but the price of hard-cover books steadily rises. It is hard to And a good novel published at 2.50 dollars any more. Indeed, 3.95 dollars is often the starting figure, and one novel of not enormous length has just been issued at 6.95 dollars, which is almost £2 10s.

One publisher of paper-backs, originals and reprints, smiled recently when asked if his product did eat into hard-cover book sales. “Paper covers will dominate American publishing in 25 years,” he said. “Absolutely nothing can prevent the public from learning to buy the same book at a much cheaper price.” But not all publishers |eel that way. Some think paper-backs will boom for a few years and then taper off. One of the biggest book stores in America devotes a third of its selling space to paper-backs. These cheaper books bring in customers and almost no-one goes away with one 75 cent paper-back. A customer buys two, three, or four. Publie Interest Whatever the merits of paperback and hard-cover books, all publishers are competing for the public interest —and getting it. Reading is in fashion and many things have contributed to it. Paper-backs have done their bit by persuading hundreds of thousands who would never have bought a 2.50-dollar book to buy one for 25 cents, and the reading habit once formed is not easily shaken off. Travelling libraries in all parts of the country have taken books to remote villages which scarcely ever saw one, except the Bible, and instilled reading habits there. Not long ago, in New England, when I stopped at a roadside cafe for coffee, the only other occupants were the waitress and an inter-State truck driver. They discussed “Henry V,” which both had read in a 25-cent edition. They didn’t discuss Shakespeare’s language, but they were fascinated by his story which they found living and enthralling. They seemed to have no idea that he was not still alive. Still more recently, in a group of islands in the Gulf of Mexico, off the west coast of Florida, I found a beautiful library founded and maintained by a wealthy Bostonian as his hobby in retirement. Not only did he issue books daily to the islanders, who had scarcely read a book before, but three times a week he loaded books on to a 30-foot motor launch to dispense books on other isolated islands.

He denied any “do-gooding,” and said that books were his hobby and he enjoyed working hard at their distribution.