(The brackets in this quote are mine, for clarity.) "Gilda had chosen that particular genre (romance) because it was one of the few forms of written literature the populace still followed. Newspapers and magazines had been relegated to the nostalgia bins since the New York Times folded in 2010. And few people could remember when they had actually held one of the literary classics in their hands."

It's interesting reading this prediction for 2020 now, in the context of declining literacy rates across the Anglophone world, and while the New York Times is still around, printed newspapers are definitely more of a novelty nowadays. The only people I know in my generation who buy physical newspapers are doing so primarily for either nostalgic purposes, or because they want to help keep the medium alive. Most of us get our news online or through the TV. As far as books are concerned, less people regularly read now than did 20 years ago, and 20 years ago I'm sure people were reading less than they were 20 years before that. Here in my county, there are no libraries open full time as the council has judged that there isn't enough demand to open then for more than a couple of days a week.

When it comes to the romance genre, I have mixed feelings about the prominence and popularity of it. I'm not against romance novels on the whole, but it does feel like a huge proportion of what gets published nowadays are romance novels, or books in other genres with a heavy focus on romance, and while a lot of romance novels are well-written, there are a lot of dubious quality flooding the market, moreso now with the AI boom. Because of this I find myself reflexively avoiding anything marketed as romance.

Part of why I love this platform is that it feels like a bit of resistance against trends of declining literacy, and the idea that books are outdated as a medium. It's a nice melding of the worlds of social media and literature, which aims to encourage discussion. On that note, I'd love to hear what your thoughts are. Are you concerned at the changes to news media? Or do you think the world has moved on from the need for physical papers? Are you worried about the future of literacy, libraries, and bookshops? What do you make of the romance genre? Is it something you enjoy, or something you avoid?