[Doc Faustus]

This is a problem we run up against all the time in the small press world, people don't read, and when they do read, they settle for what's on the shelves at bookstore. If we don't like our local videostore, we join Netflix. That's smart. If you don't like what's on the shelves of your local bookstore, do not compromise. There's a world of smaller presses doing more interesting stuff. At the convention last week I met the author of a book about a man who fell in love with his house, the author of a book about apocalyptic acid rock, the author of a book about a tour group of zealots hunting flying sharks in the Garden of Eden, an author who was at Clarion under Harlan Ellison in the 70s and wrote a book of stories that take American magical realism to a new level, the author of a book about a man who survives the apocalypse by wearing a cockroach suit. Weird, perhaps a bit zany, but possibilities are examined, limits are tested and reality is bent to the breaking point. Our imaginations do not have to settle. Why don't people read? Because what's on the shelves isn't distinctive enough that they feel it speaks for them. What can be done about it? Do your research and legwork. Read the reviews in Cemetery Dance, check out small presses and unique authors. Reading can be fun if we remember the age of being told what we like is over.