Why we are reading more fiction
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Good news about reading!
This morning, The New York Times reports on a National Endowment of the Arts study that shows that "for the first time since 1982, when the bureau began collecting such
data, the proportion of adults 18 and older who said they had read at
least one novel, short story, poem or play in the previous 12 months has risen." The numbers aren't dramatic, and there's still a lot more folks out there to reach. But any uptick is welcome!
The study credits programmatic reasons for the reversal: the NEA's own fabulous Big Read program (which I took part in last year in Kansas) and book clubs such as Oprah's. The study also cites the influence of civic leaders, including teachers, in promoting reading.
But there's another important reason that people are turning to fiction: fiction offers us our best opportunity to understand our world. Traditional news reporting (to the extent that you can still find it in today's difficult media environment) offers facts. It's through fiction that we come to appreciate what those facts mean, to truly understand a time, place or culture. Fiction immerses us. Fiction puts us into another person's shoes, and allows us to see the world through another person's eyes.
There's no better way to understand what's going on on the West Bank today than to read Matt Benyon Rees' novels The Collaborator of Bethlehem, A Grave in Gaza (order from us online). Rees puts us right in the middle of the conflict in a way that no news story ever can. The novels are based on Rees' own work as a reporter on the ground: he was Time Magazine's Jerusalem bureau chief; learn more about Rees on his website. (Isn't it telling that veteran journalists such as Rees and the Baltimore Sun's Dan Fesperman write both fiction and nonfiction?)
 Leighton Gage's novels Blood of the Wicked and Buried Strangers are also great examples of how a talented writer is using the mystery novel to describe a society. Leighton Gage visits The Mystery Company tonight, Monday, January 12 at 7 pm, to talk about and sign copies of his books.
The reviews on Buried Strangers, just published this month, are strong. Booklist writes: "Gage's second Mario Silva mystery is an impressive follow-up to an
excellent debut, with an equally compelling
plot, fascinating characters, and a story so real and chilling, it's
hard to image it happening anywhere else but Silva's Brazil.... Gage's talents include not
only captivating characters and realistic plots, but also an intensely
realized sense of place and an unrelentingly fast pace that yanks the
reader from beginning to end, unable to stop or pause, just as the cops
are unable to take a day off."
Blood of the Wicked was one of the five books we most enjoyed selling in 2008, not just because we found the book fascinating, but also because we really enjoyed our visit with Gage. We hope that you can join us this evening for his return, but if you can't make it, you can order Gage's books from us online or by calling us at 800-643-6737. For more information, you can also visit Gage's website.
Both Matt Benyon Rees and Leighton Gage are published in the Soho Crime program, a line that also includes Colin Cotterill, Peter Lovesey, Cara Black and many more. Soho Crime is today's best mystery publishing program; you can pretty much trust in every book with the Soho Crime name on it. You'll find their distinctively designed books throughout our store.
Next up: Laura Benedict here on Sunday, January 18 at 2 pm. Click here to visit her website.
Hope you'll join us!
-- Jim
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