The Coming Successes of Literature, and How They May (or May Not) All Include Bondage

by Kevin Coopersmith

Their names alone are enough to make you sigh profusely.

Here, watch: Twilight. Fifty Shades of Grey. To most lovers of words, the only thinking they inspire is in answering the question – what about them frustrates you more? Is it the endless conversation that breeds whenever a film or new saga of either set is released? Is it the way the books fly off the shelves and are quickly devoured by your friends who still seem to have failed to get around to reading that awesome Neil Gaiman book you recommended to them years ago? Or is the fact that these books, and their subsequent movies, have turned countless millions in revenue while the rest of the industry struggles to keep its head above water?

It’s a hard truth to realize, but that doesn’t make it any less real – America is reading, they’re just not reading anything of substance. As a matter of fact, the average American spends most of their day reading – 11 hours a day on average with digital media alone, according to a Nielsen study conducted last year. That’s 11 hours of channel surfing, Facebook walls, Twitter feeds, refreshed Reddit pages, and underwhelming Buzzfeed articles.

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