A wonderful little library I visited in my friend’s neighborhood in Alexandria, VA.
I’ve been reading a lot of posts lately from writers bemoaning the author discoverability problem. With thousands of books coming out each year, it’s hard for any author to stand out and sell books. A lot of these posts have suggested how to be more visible by being the loudest, coolest, or smartest writer on the block, but few have pointed out a key reason we have this problem: there are not enough readers. If we could get people who don’t read to pick up one or two novels a year, or the people who read only two novels to start reading four or five, we’d have a lot more books and authors being discovered, a lot more people falling in love with reading (and growing their brains), and, yes, probably more books being sold as a result.
So how do we do this in a world of reluctant readers and addictive HBO programming? Here are ten ideas:
1.) Make more Little Free Libraries
These are fantastic, and they seem to be spreading, but I’ve yet to see one in my own town. The little free libraries are a great way to create readers because they are easy, open invitations for anyone who walks by them to grab a book–kids strolling home from school, a woman walking her dog, that guy down the street bringing home his hoagie from the convenience store. Build one, and they may come. Sure, you make get the occasional used tissue thrown into your library, but isn’t that a small price to pay for supporting literacy?
2.) Create, join, and advertise more book challenges
Doing a book challenge is a fun, focused way to get people to read more. Check out this Pinterest board of 2014 challenges. There is something for everyone here–parent books, sci-fi, zombies, classics, nonfiction–even something called the “Real Men Do It Better Reading Challenge.” My own romance reading challenge has inspired me to read more. Create a 2014 challenge or join one–it’s not too late!–and recruit a friend. Aren’t you a bit curious how real men do it better?
3.) Support and utilize workplace incentives to read
If you’re in charge at your workplace, look into ways to foster reading among your employees (for its aforementioned brain-growing powers, at least). Do a book round-robin gift exchange at the holidays. Let everyone out a bit early on Friday to join the work book club at the bar. Let some workers take book breaks while others are taking their smoke breaks. (Note: since I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for the past several years, some of these ideas or better may already be happening; feel free to chime in if that’s the case!)
4.) Support local libraries
Libraries are places were you can walk in, grab a book, and borrow it FOR FREE. Think about it for a minute, because it’s pretty amazing. Support your local library with your presence, your praise to your friends, perhaps your volunteer time, and your wallet. My own library system has a page with links to OverDrive WIN Affiliated Retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble; if I go to that page and click through to an online book retailer and then make a purchase, a portion will be credited back to my library to expand their collection. Your library may have something similar, and it’s worth checking out. More books means more chances for readers to find what they want.
5.) Engage in less book shaming
Let’s just all make a pact to read what we want, whether that’s a classic work of literary fiction or something with a half-naked cyborg man on the cover. People should be allowed to make their own reading choices without feeling embarrassed or judged, as if book choice dictates their intelligence or personality. Among all the wonderful, quotable things Neil Gaiman said in a speech last fall to The Reading Agency was the following, which I think also applies to adults: “Every now and again it becomes fashionable among some adults to point at a subset of children’s books, a genre, perhaps, or an author, and to declare them bad books… It’s snobbery and it’s foolishness. There are no bad authors for children, that children like and want to read and seek out, because every child is different. They can find the stories they need to, and they bring themselves to stories.”
6.) Adapt more books into movies
This is already happening a fair amount lately, probably due to the financial benefits of releasing a movie with an existing fan base, but I think it’s a good move in terms of creating more readers. It generates buzz around books and authors, which is a good thing, and also makes people want to be able to say to their friends in the theater lobby, perhaps with a certain look of smugness on their popcorn-butter-smeared faces, “The book was better.”
7.) Create and attend book clubs
Book clubs are, yes, clubs centered around reading books, but they’re also opportunities to hang out with friends, meet new people, and have a dinner out that doesn’t involve getting sneezed on by a toddler with a mouthful of Goldfish crackers. Advertise your book club, mention these benefits, and you many find some non-readers tentatively dipping their nose into your monthly book selection. Starting my local moms’ book club nearly five years ago helped me not only get friends and get sane, but get reading more on a regular basis.
8.) Create and join more awesome book clubs
But, wait, there’s more! To grab more people, pimp your book club. Make it themed, like a club that reads only books set in New York, books with fairies, or books related to a term popped out by a random word generator. Take a look back at that reading challenge Pinterest board for inspiration and let your imagination and freak flag fly. Making your club unique and quirky will make people take notice–and maybe they’ll want to discover for themselves how many books do actually feature an aardvark.
9.) Create more flexible book clubs
Yes, I’m still writing about book clubs. If you’re feeling pressed for time, short on cash to spend on dinners, or simply unable to go out, make it flexible. Create or join an online group on Goodreads or Facebook. Make a Skype book club date with far-flung buddies. More people may be willing to join a reading group if it’s super-convenient for them (and they can watch Downtown Abbey in the background). My own Facebook classics book club has been humming along for a few years now, and it’s been a wonderful way to talk about books with friends all over the country.
10.) Listen to audiobooks and book podcasts while driving friends around so THEY CANNOT ESCAPE
This is a legitimate way to make more readers and totally not me trying to come up with a tenth point. Totally not that at all.
I know I’m missing some awesome ideas. How else can we make more readers?