Tag Archives: Neil Gaiman

Culture

What Is The Future Of Book Libraries?

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Endangered Species?
Endangered Species?

“Libraries are our friends” said famed writer Neil Gaiman. Katharine Hepburn once asked “what in the world would we do without our libraries?” When last polled about a decade ago in 2011, Toronto was home to ninety-eight public libraries and two book mobiles; with approximately thirty thousand programs hours and more than 19 million in person visits.

Ghostbusters (1984) Dr. Egon Spengler: “print is dead”

Despite the seeming popularity of the time honored library, there have been very legitimate concerns about the decline of the library in our digitized world. The cynical pronouncement from the Annoyed Librarian blogger is that no one will even notice as libraries vanish because people will be “too busy renting ebooks from Amazon”.

What no Dewey!??
What no Dewey!?? Something is being lost…cardboard catalogue placards…pile carpeting…the esoteric ‘quest’ of locating a physical book…the sensation of walking between the rows and aisles of paper books….

 

Is there a future for Libraries?

Books are being replaced with ebooks and the other popular resource, DVDs, are also rapidly being replaced by online movie providers. Publishing companies are not easily persuaded to turn over ebooks (as Libraries offer their use for free, and it’s easier to control the distribution of e-resources than print media which can be obtained anywhere), so although Libraries attempt to acquire as many ebooks as possible, this isn’t always easy.

 

A pile (!) of books. Heavy but hard to ignore. Physical media have a permanence and that permanence affords respect and care. Digital media not so much.
A pile (!) of books. Heavy but hard to ignore. Physical media have a permanence and that permanence affords respect and care. Digital media not so much.

Other sources argue that if people believe the internet is making libraries obsolete, it’s because they haven’t been in a library recently.

The reality is that libraries, like so many public institutions, have adapted to new digitized world.

Book circulation may have declined, but the Library now offers a wider diversity of services. Libraries offer free wi-fi, public computers for personal use, an assortment of programs for all age groups, Library accounts accessible online, and even offer services such as income tax filing assistance and computer classes for seniors.  For the Silo, Charity Blaine.

 

Art

Audiobooks Are A Quickly Growing Industry In Canada

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Canada is in the midst of an audiobook boom. Though sales numbers aren’t available yet, they’ve been growing rapidly in the United States, and north of the border, there’s been a substantial influx of publishers entering the audiobook market.

Why Do Canadians Listen to Audiobooks?

What’s behind their growing popularity? It all comes down to the pleasure of listening. Canadians are busy, stressed out, and looking for a way to slow down. Carving time out of the day to sit back and listen to a book is a chance to clear out the cobwebs, recharge, and rebalance. You can listen to audiobooks at the end of a long day, on your commute, on a lazy Saturday morning, or while you’re cleaning up and doing the dishes.

There’s also the appeal of the narrator. Talented voice actors bring great stories from the page to the speaker. They can bring a different personality to a book and new life to a story you already love.

While not every author has a voice made for narration, some of the best audiobooks available are narrated by the authors themselves. Neil Gaiman is a standout in this category. A natural-born storyteller, Gaiman has narrated a number of his own audiobooks and graced other works with his signature voice, though he’s not alone. Writers like Jenny Lawson, Christopher Hitchens, and Seamus Heaney have all made names for themselves narrating their own books. 

Indie Canadian Publishers Getting into Audiobooks

It’s not just international publishers that are producing audiobooks in Canada. Independent publishers like House of Anansi and ECW Press have entered the audiobook market, producing some of their own award-winning titles and making them available on various audiobook platforms.

Titles like Tanya Talaga’s Seven Fallen Feathers, Eden Robinson’s Song of a Trickster, and Cherie Dimaline’s bestselling Empire of Wild are just some of the titles available as audiobooks thanks to the recent uptick in the Canadian market.

Great Canadian Talent

Canada has been relatively slow to enter this market, but it’s uncovered a hidden talent pool. As independent publishers have looked toward local actors, they’re discovering Canadians have a knack for narrating. Some audiobook producers are hoping more Canadians will make it easier to find great voice actors for their titles.

How Audiobooks Are Changing Book Clubs

Audiobooks have also opened up new opportunities for book clubs, moving from solitary reading to listening as a social activity. Clubs can now appreciate titles together and talk about what they think chapter by chapter. Club meetings can even be hosted online.

How Do Canadians Get Their Audiobooks?

Subscriptions have become the preferred way for Canadians to get their audiobooks. They work like a “book of the month club.” For example, a subscription with Audible gets you credits to pick one audiobook each month. You can buy more if you’re a voracious listener, and there are usually other membership benefits, such as access to podcasts.

With fast-growing sales and increased production, Canadian book-lovers can look forward to lots of new Canadian titles making the transition to audiobook format.