DEBORAH CROMBIE: So how are we all surviving the ad onslaught in the run up to the midterms???
We don't watch much broadcast TV, so have at least mostly been spared ads there. (I love The Voice, but watch on Tablo, which gives you commercial skip the next day.) But we do like to watch things on YouTube, and the ads there have been relentless and inescapable. You can't fast forward--you can only wait for the little disc to count down until it allows you to skip, and often they are bundling three or four ads in that space. And of course if you're not fast enough on the button, the cycle starts all over again...
And then there are the texts!!! We might be able to choose not to watch TV or YouTube, but sometimes texts are actually important and we can't just ignore them or shut off the app. I can take some responsibility for the number I get because I'm on donor rolls, but Rick is not and he gets almost as many as I do.
I feel guilty, too, because many of these texts are from people I'd like to support but I'm already doing what I can for my state candidates, and I will vote. (Friday!)
Has anyone devised a coping strategy, other than infinite patience?
Now, for a couple of brighter notes, I had to share a photo of one of the gorgous pots on our front porch, which I mentioned the other day.
I have two of these, courtesy of our local hardware store, and goodness did they perk things up after our blistering summer. I'm trying to take half an hour every day just to sit outside and admire them.
And here's another cheery thing. There is a huge profile of James Daunt in the October 19th issue of The New Yorker, titled "The New Age of Reading." It doesn't seem that the magazine allows gift articles (or at least I couldn't figure out how to do it,) but here's the link if you're a subscriber. If not, it might be worth a trial just to read this piece.
I've been a huge fan of Daunt Books since long before Daunt became CEO of then-failing Waterstone's (and now Foyle's and Blackwell's as well) and now CEO of Barnes & Noble. The original Daunt's in Marlebone is one of the most gorgeous bookstores you could ever hope to visit, and I also love the Daunt's in Holland Park, which has been my "regular" when I'm in London. (A funny story about that store--quite a few years ago I was in London when one of my books had recently come out and the shop had several copies on display. I took them to the counter and asked them if they'd like me to sign the stock (as we do in the US) and they looked at me like I was absolutely bonkers. In the end I had to show them ID to prove that I wasn't just some crazy lady who'd wandered in off the street and wanted to deface the merchandise!)
After a slew of articles in the last few months, including "The Age of Reading is Dead" in the August issue of The Atlantic, The New Yorker piece offers a much needed rebuttal, as well as an in-depth look at the man who seems to have single-handedly saved bookstores on both sides of the Atlantic.
What do you think about the state of reading, dear Reds and readers? I know we exist in a book-centric universe, but I see positive signs everywhere.
