SUBURBAN SYNTAX

In a (not so) surprising turn of good news, it seems the publishing industry is doing pretty well during the extended duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Publishers Doing Well, Retailers OK.

While retailers like the ever-embattled Barnes&Noble took an initial hit, publishers have quietly been able to continue churning out books mostly on schedule due to the nature of their business. This piece over at Observer details how sales of books have been going up as more people turn to books for entertainment and information while being at home.

This makes logical sense to me. I’ve been reading far more in the past couple of months, even if my writing output has suffered from quarantine. I have noticed that I’ve been skewing heavily toward non-fiction books though. I’ve struggled with getting into fiction, which is extremely abnormal for me. It’s not surprising to me with all the major events happening globally in 2020 that people are seeking out information in books, and creating a rise in non-fiction sales.

Luckily for us, many retail booksellers are now open again in some capacity. That combined with availability of online sales is something we can at least be grateful for in these challenging times.

Have you been reading more during the pandemic? If so, what have you been getting into? Let me know down in the comments.