Fiction writers were always going to incorporate the current Covid pandemic into their work at some stage, and possibly some may have wondered when exactly that would be appropriate. Given there is doubt as to whether the virus will ever completely disappear though, many writers have decided waiting for a “better time” is futile, if a look at new and recent publications is anything to go by.
But Lara Feigel, writing for The Guardian, questions whether readers are ready to see pandemic-related plots featuring in the work of their favourite authors.
When lockdown hit last March, some writers offered their services as delivery drivers or volunteered at Covid test centres. Others attempted to make progress with preexisting projects, blanking out the new world careering into being in front of them. But nothing written in the past 18 months can be entirely free of Covid, with its stark blend of stasis and fear. And now, as we see the work made by writers who confronted it head on, questions emerge. Do we really want to read about the pandemic while it is still unfolding? Do we risk losing sight of the long view in getting too caught up with the contemporary?
But change is coming to the e-reader world this fall, in the form of three brand-new readers. From upstart challenger Rakuten Kobo come the Kobo Sage and the Kobo Libra 2. And from the big dog, Amazon, comes the 11th-generation Kindle Paperwhite.
The Australia Reads 2021 National Reading Survey, which I wrote about yesterday, indicates up to two-thirds of Australian book readers peruse e-books to some degree. Currently about half the novels I read are e-books, though at the moment I’m still mainly using my smartphone rather than a reader.
According to the recently published findings of Australia Reads 2021 National Reading Survey, one in four Australians did not engage with a book, either by reading or listening to one, in the eighteen months to June 2021. So much for thinking people would leap at the chance to read more, given many have had lockdown enforced downtime on their hands recently. I know I would’ve if I’d not been required to pretty much work continually throughout the most recent lockdown.
But 64% of respondents found the lure of movies and television too tempting, while 46% of people said perusing social media, and browsing the internet took up much of their time. Of the some three-thousand survey participants, about a third were general readers, being the proverbial average person on the street, while the remainder were considered to be “engaged” readers, generally being people subscribed to news updates from publishing houses, and who no doubt can be found on Bookstagram.
I’m not sure if three-thousand or so people makes for a particularly representative sample, but the findings are nonetheless fascinating reading. A few items caught my eye as I looked through the data. For instance:
38% of Australians think they read more books during the pandemic, versus 53% who didn’t. 9% thought they read less.
Of engaged readers, 37% are considered to be obsessed readers, typically reading at least one book per week.
Many “obsessed readers” have numerous book in their TBR stack, and read two or three titles simultaneously.
52% of respondents have never listened to an audio book.
54% of Australians give up on (DNF) a book if they don’t quickly become interested in it.
43% prefer a book recommendation from family and friends, while…
… less than 12% of respondents trust recommendations via social media.
And, 3% of Australians think they spend too much time reading.
Encouragingly though, becoming a regular reader, for all the associated benefits, isn’t too difficult. If a person were to read for ten minutes a day, assuming a rate of three-hundred words per minute, that would equate to ninety-thousand words (the average novel’s word-count) a month, or twelve titles a year.
Thirty-year-old New Yorker Diana is a woman with a plan. The rising star associate in the art world is on the verge of closing a big deal that could see her win the promotion she’s long dreamed of. Marriage, followed by children by the time she’s thirty-five, are also part of the arrangement. Diana is certain Finn, her long-time boyfriend, a hospital doctor, is on the verge of proposing.
They are about to leave for a holiday on the Galapagos Islands, and Diana is sure she’ll come home an engaged woman. But then the COVID pandemic breaks out. Finn tells Diana he cannot leave the hospital. Instead of postponing the getaway though, he suggests Diana go to Galapagos by herself, an idea she unwittingly agrees to. At that stage though, no one has any idea of what is about to come. Upon reaching the Islands, Diana discovers she is stranded there indefinitely.
With her luggage lost, the hotel closed, little knowledge of the local language, and patchy wi-fi, Diana finds herself outside her comfort zone for the first time in her life. Wish You Were Here (published by Penguin Random House, November 2021), by American author Jodi Picoult, sees someone’s well laid plans fall to pieces due to unforeseen circumstances, coupled though with an opportunity to reassess their life. Something that may be familiar to many of us, perhaps?
Playing with Matches (published by Simon & Schuster, November 2021), by Auckland, New Zealand based author and poet Michael Faudet, includes a selection of his best previously published writings, plus thirty-five new works of poetry and prose. Playing with Matches lands, I believe, in bookshops shortly. The cover – in case you were wondering – was designed by Barcelona, Spain, based French artist Malika Favre.
The judges said ‘both titles exhibit beautiful and engaging writing, genuine and heartfelt examinations of identity and culture, and nuanced explorations of their themes. Each winner also showcases experimental forms and the power of small presses to bring unique stories to the world.’
Nine non-fiction titles make up the longlist of this year’s Walkley Book Award, including Witness, by Louise Milligan, The Winter Road, by Kate Holden, and Lowitja: The authorised biography of Lowitja O’Donoghue, by Stuart Rintoul.
The Walkley Book Award celebrates Australian writers who take enduring subjects from news, eyewitness accounts, investigations and history. Their books bring readers immersive detail, clear analysis and new revelations.
The Walkley Book Award differs from the Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism, which are possibly the better known of the Walkley prizes. The shortlist will be announced in December, and the winner will be named on 11 February 2022.
“I think what it boils down to – what we’ve got today [are] the audiences who were brought up on these fucking cell phones,” Scott said. “The millennian, [who] do not ever want to be taught anything unless you told it on the cell phone… This is a broad stroke, but I think we’re dealing with it right now with Facebook. This is a misdirection that has happened where it’s given the wrong kind of confidence to this latest generation, I think.”
By that rationale though wouldn’t most movies, not just historical dramas, be doing poorly at the box-office?
JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass (trailer), is a documentary by American filmmaker Oliver Stone, a follow up of sorts to his 1991 drama feature JFK. “Conspiracy theories are now conspiracy facts,” Stone asserts, having presumably combed through many of the previously withheld papers in relation to the 1963 assassination of late US President John F. Kennedy, released by Donald Trump in 2018.
The real story of the assassination is this: Kennedy was killed by one misfit guy, a cheap but effective rifle, a good vantage point from the building where he worked and a run of fortuitous events. It is over. We must realise that this horrible event was not some evil plot. It was the product of chance, not conspiracy.
John Forsyth, chairman of Dymocks Group, one of Australia’s oldest booksellers, is concerned local government isn’t doing enough to rejuvenate Sydney’s CBD, particularly in the wake of recent pandemic imposed lockdowns. He isn’t alone. Businesses in other commercial centres across Greater Sydney are also feeling the pinch. They’re urging municipal councils, many of whom are facing elections in early December, to do more to bring people back into city centres.
But I’m not sure it’s that simple, and other ways to support struggling businesses may need to be considered. Some workers don’t want to return to central business districts. Having been forced to work from home, many are content to stay there. And who can blame them? Working from home means less time lost to commuting, commuting in the first instance, and more time to spend with the family, and on other things they find important. These people are still supporting small businesses, but ones closer to home, rather than in the city.
It’s long been my thought that advances in technology were always going to bring about this sort of shift in work practises eventually, the pandemic simply hastened the inevitable. What happens in the few months will be pivotal. Many organisations are paying rent on buildings that are virtually unoccupied. How will they respond? By instructing workers to return? Or by scaling down office space? But with some workers looking to relocate to rural regions, and renewed talk of four day working weeks, will we ever see the return of city workers to pre-pandemic levels?
