To the final thought that you've put, I believe Substack too can be a very potent flag bearer for promoting reading. They have sufficient data by now about their readers locations. Them running digital/physical world campaigns (Like the Art everywhere initiatives) can do wonders. Maybe the writers can pitch in an extra something to promote themselves, win-win!
This is an interesting thought and one I hope that someone at Substack is actively considering! The idea of the platform acting as a standard-bearer for a local culture of letters could lead to really interesting behaviour in future I think
Great piece, and I'm in full agreement. Re: 7th bullet point - the Art of Manliness blog has been on a campaign to get more men reading for quite some time now. A search on the site for "reading books" gives a plethora of essays on why books are important, why men should read them more, and some tips for putting that philosophy into practice. https://www.artofmanliness.com/page/2/?s=reading+books
Ah good point William - I remember a while back seeing some of their stuff and wishing that more platforms were giving male reading this kind of push. From the limited data I've seen so far, it also appears that whilst men aren't necessarily reading 'literary fiction' (possibly because it's become quite a gendered genre), they are buying thrillers, fantasy and science fiction. If we want to get more men reading, we should start there.
To the final thought that you've put, I believe Substack too can be a very potent flag bearer for promoting reading. They have sufficient data by now about their readers locations. Them running digital/physical world campaigns (Like the Art everywhere initiatives) can do wonders. Maybe the writers can pitch in an extra something to promote themselves, win-win!
This is an interesting thought and one I hope that someone at Substack is actively considering! The idea of the platform acting as a standard-bearer for a local culture of letters could lead to really interesting behaviour in future I think
Great piece, and I'm in full agreement. Re: 7th bullet point - the Art of Manliness blog has been on a campaign to get more men reading for quite some time now. A search on the site for "reading books" gives a plethora of essays on why books are important, why men should read them more, and some tips for putting that philosophy into practice. https://www.artofmanliness.com/page/2/?s=reading+books
Ah good point William - I remember a while back seeing some of their stuff and wishing that more platforms were giving male reading this kind of push. From the limited data I've seen so far, it also appears that whilst men aren't necessarily reading 'literary fiction' (possibly because it's become quite a gendered genre), they are buying thrillers, fantasy and science fiction. If we want to get more men reading, we should start there.