Then and Now

The book industry and the newspaper industry has dramatically changes in my lifetime, and I'm only 20. In the past century, only educated people were reading books. Now anyone can do it but we don't. I think as the years go by books will be nonexistent. With books now being put online (e-books) and books becoming movies people aren't reading as much. If it wasn't for textbooks, book sales would be seriouly in trouble. I too am gulity of not reading. Still, one of my favorite books ever is Hamlet. The subject matter is extremely well written. I've only read the "sparknotes" edition of the book which translate the wording to modern English. I really did not understand "to be or not to be" until I read this book. What really shocked me is the recent list of band books. I remember reading such books like The Chocolate War, Goosebumps, and Harry Potter as a kid. Books like The Giver, Of Mice and Men, A Wrinkle in Time, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Outsiders, etc. were required reading in my home state.

I was just looking at some of the best selling books of all time and guess which books were up there? To Kill a Mockingbird just by itself as sold over 30 million copies since it was first published in 1960. The Goosebumps series has sold over 300 million copies since it was first published in 1992. Also, they made 62 of those books. On top of the Goosebumps series is the Harry Potter series which has seven books and has sold over 400 million books and still counting. The 7th book itself, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, has sold over 40 million copies and was also voted the "Best Book for Young Adults" by the American Library Association. Goosebumps and Harry Potter are both children books and are both on the banned list. Maybe the association banning books used look into the books they are banning and see why they are doing so.