I think the first time I really became aware of what is going on with what seems to be waning interest of our kids generation in reading of the printed page, was when my own three children - all in their 20 ' - thanked me for their signed copies of my latest novel, Shadow of Innocence, but somewhat guiltily confessed, they'd probably never read it.

What!!?

Hey, wait a minute, I write novels and my own kids aren't even going to read them? What gives? Have my schoolteacher wife and I somehow managed to produce an illiterate brood of offspring? Well to be fair, they do read - sometimes. However, my boys read only non-fiction business books and my daughter, as she tells me, is not 'into', my genre.

But as I began to look into this reading reluctance more closely, it seems that there is a definite trend away from reading for enjoyment in the under 30 population. And Harry Potter aside, most kids would rather watch TV or play video games, then read.

And it's not just a limited to the 'too busy' 20 Something's.

While at a book signing earlier this week, I got to talking with a young mom and her three grade-school age children, all of whom she admitted, hate to read. And not even the magic and hype of around the marvelous Harry Potter could break through their reluctance to forsake the 'Tube' for the printed word.

As near as I can ascertain, these advanced cases of 'literary phobia' seem to revolve around one a central theme. Reading is work. Videos are fun.

Oddly enough, the reading aversion doesn't seem to extend to reading off of a computer screen. But before my fellow authors start effervescing about 'e-books' replacing the printed word, I'd have to respectfully and sadly disagree. It's not necessarily the medium that delivers the story, novel or essay; its the words themselves. The generation that has been raised on the flashing lights and blaring sounds of video games, music videos and TV commercials, don't like reading blocks of words - unless they flash, move and sing.

In a nutshell, almost everyone I spoke to under the age of 30 feels that all reading means work; for school, the job, or in navigating on-line forms. And work that they are perfectly willing to do by the way for things like on-line registrations, i-pod warranties and the endless minutia involved in setting up a My space, Face Book, or any other number of on-line, ‘tell-all’ forms detailing everything from sexual orientation to shoe size.

In an attempt to ascertain whether or not it's the story line or plot of novels that turns today's generation off from recreational reading as a form of entertainment, I've actually discussed the plots and story lines of some of my favorite books and authors with many of these very nice and very bright, young people. Often they get really interested in them and when they do, can you guess what question they asked me? " In is it out on D V D? "

Sigh

But maybe it's our fault. Maybe all of the electronic flashing, and jumping, noisemaking cyber entertainment and communications devices with which we've flooded our kids generation, has atrophied their ability to visualize and enjoy a written story using nothing but - imagination.

On the other hand, who knows, maybe it will all work out. Maybe undreamed of new technologies will come along to save the day - and imagination.

Perhaps we can imagine a future day when some new remarkable electronic cyber device will give kids the opportunity to imagine their own story and create it in words, pictures and sound. Perhaps in the form of holograph as in Star wars.

So buck up my fellow boomers. Maybe by the time we're all hanging out in the nursing home and cackling about our 'glory days' spent blowing out our brain cells back in the groovy '60s and '70s, our grand kids will be creating literary flights of fancy that will bring a imagination and storytelling back full circle.

Let’s hope!

Ric

Ric Wasley

Author

Shadow of Innocence

Kunati - April 2007

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ric_Wasley

http://www.kunati.com/shadow-of-innocence-hip-myster/

New from Kunati Publishing: SHADOW OF INNOCENCE - The Newport Folk Festival provides a groovy backdrop for this fun and exciting mystery set in the music and drug soaked sixties. The Baby Boomers and everyone else are sure to enjoy this appealing mystery featuring a pair of musician partners in love and danger. Don't miss Shadow of Innocence From Kunati Publishing. Available now on; Amazon ,Barnes & Noble and at bookstores everywhere.

Here’s sort of a random thought I had during a book signing last week for my new novel Shadow of Innocence (Kunati Publishers)

I was in another huge Barns & Noble in Nashua, NH and they had given me a super spot - about 20 feet away from the main entrance by the new books table. But with all that, the fist 2 hours were very slow. The Barns & Noble CRM liaison couldn't have been nicer. She came up to me every 15 minutes to ask how it was going and announced every 10 minutes that "Kunati author of Shadow of Innocence, Ric Wasley" was up front and signing books.” (didn't I wish !)

Despite all of her help and me smiling and waving a every customer who came in the door, after the 2 hours that they'd advertised for my signing, I'd had some tire-kickers but had not sold a single book. But was I discouraged ? In a word - YEAH !

Kathy, the CRM, came over and was almost in tears. "I'm so sorry," she said, "this just happens sometimes. I know it's probably an imposition, but do you think you might be able to stay a little while longer. Maybe things will pick up after people get out of work."

Hummm, I thought, I suppose that would mean canceling my appointment for tea with the Queen and my date with Madonna, but... "Sure." I said, "I'll stay.”

That was apparently the offering that the 'Book Gods' had been waiting for, 'cause within 5 minutes I had a line at my table and was signing and schmoozing nonstop for the next hour !

Kathy estimated that I'd moved about 15 - 20 books by the time I left and then, bless her heart, she brought me another 25 copies to sign for the store and she also took my book table and set up a display right at the front of the store next to the New Books table!!

But amid that hour of frenzied signing I had what was probably one of the most personally gratifying (and humbling) experiences I've ever had.

I've mentioned that I was set-up right by the main entrance, and during the two hours when no one bought, a guy had stopped by my table on his way out. He was a really nice guy - a fire fighter/EMT.

We got talking and he really got interested in Shadow and asked “how much?” I told him $25 but that B&N always had some discounts. He looked stricken. Seems he just bought a copy of the new Janet Evanovitch book and had blown his cash and had no credit card. "I could try to find an ATM. How much longer will you be here?" He asked. At that time I was feeling ready to pack it in but said, "probably another hour or so."

"OK," he said. "I'll be back." Sure you will I, thought - you and the Terminator.

Well, more than an hour later, I was happily tallying up my sales and had gone to find the CRM to thank her, before leaving. As I came back to the table to start packing up my things, there was a guy standing in front of the table, a despairing look on his face. It was the guy.

When he saw me he broke into a big grin. "Hey, It's you." He said. "Whew, I thought you had already left. Sorry I took so long, but the first ATM I found was out of service so I had to drive to another mall." I actually found myself getting a little choked up.

I signed his book with a personal message and with more satisfaction than I think I've had at any of my signings so far. Then he asked me if I'd written anything other McCarthy mysteries. I told him Acid Test was the first novel in the series and that he could order it through B&N or Amazon. He wrote that down and asked if there were going to be more McCarthy mysteries and I said that I'd just finished the third one.

He then said probably what is the most satisfying and humbling thing anyone has ever said to me; "I'm going to be watching for it 'cause I plan on buying everything you ever write."

All I could do was to shake his hand and thank him.

That's something that will stay with me for a long, long time as one of those ‘little’ moments that does ‘Big’ things and really makes all the hard work and sleepless nights, worth it.

All the best

Ric

Ric Wasley - Author

• Shadow of Innocence - Kunati - April 2007

• Acid Test - 2004

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ric_Wasley

http://www.kunati.com/shadow-of-innocence-hip-myster/

Or…can an ‘Old Dog’s’ musical taste still learn a few new musical ‘tricks’?

The year was 1967 and my band was opening for the Kingsman (of Louie – Louie fame). We knew all about Rock & Roll and could rip a rift from one end of a stadium to the other..

The Stones were king as well as ‘Mo-town’, Eric Clapton’s blues, the ‘Folk’ of Dylan and folk/rock of the Byrds.

We had redefined musical taste in everything from concerts to commercials for the next milleniumn and it was fine with us,

Ever since those golden/vinyl days we Boomers have had the self-satisfaction of knowing that we have set the standards for rock and pop music for the foreseeable future.

After all, who could displace us? Certainly not the pallid, wimpy ‘Disco’ groups of the late Seventies or the self-conscious’, gimmicky wanna-be’ groups of the nineties. After all, we were – no strike that – are (well we still are, right?) the generation that invented Rock & Roll!

We are the generation that said “Bleep-You” to convention and the status quo. We changed everything from morals to music to the way as Shakespeare would have put it – “the world wags on.”

So I’ve gotta admit in retrospect that I might have been a tad bit ‘closed minded’ when one of my kids told me about a new ‘break-out band’ that they’d heard in one of the rowdy bars that I used to play in when I was a musical young punk growing up in Boston back in the sixties.

They played a few cuts off of a CD but I’m ashamed to admit that for one of the pioneers of musical freedom four decades ago, I was sadly close-minded. I mean what could these twenty-something ‘head-bangers’ have to offer the generation that invented the youth culture and put sex, drugs and Rock & Roll on the societal map.

Well guess what… LOTS !

Yes – we Baby Boomers gave the world a culture of new social mores and a musical heritage that will last a lot long than we will. I mean, hey, we gave society words and music that are used for everything from commercials to Webster’s dictionary. The feelings and once idealistic dreams of the sixties have not only become part of the lexicon of contemporary society, but in many cases – the law itself!

In other words fellow Boomers, we (as Pogo would have said) “have met the enemy and he is …Us!”

So it was with some surprise that I came to the realization this weekend at a wedding for one of my sweet nieces … And many, many continued best wishes for happiness, Betsy! …that the musical envelope is continuing to be pushed. And in more creative ways then we ever could have dreamed.

And that brings me to the point of my rant – no, my observation … ( Jeeze Ric – about freakin’ time ! ) The world continues to have both interesting and innovative expressions of music and society whether we buy into it or not.

You see the group that my kids thought I’d like (and I would have if they hadn’t suggested it first) is a fantastic Punk Rock, Folk/Irish group called the Drop Kick Murphy’s.

Now bear with me for a minute here. When I say punk-rock I’m not talking about some pimply faced Goth types with more tattoos than ‘Popeye the Sailor’ and at least as many piercing as a striped bass in a Sunday afternoon fishing contest.

No – what make this group “wicked awesome” as we say around Boston – home of Standels, of ‘Dirty’ Water fame, is that they actually combine Folk, Irish traditional, hard rock, head banger, punk and … whatever – with a creative blend of traditional folk and hard driving contemporary Pop/Rock/Folk/Punk sound that makes them all at once children of the sixties folk/pop and at the same time a totally new mix of the gritty best of the new wave punk/rock rebel iconoclasts.

In fact if The Drop Kick Murphy’s had been around in the ‘old days’ of the 60’s vinyl R&R that I recorded on, I probably would have worn out at least two of their CD’s this weekend!

But bottom line is that those of us who pioneered ‘Do our own thing’ – and - ‘keep an open mind’, should probably take a good long look in the mirror every once in a while to make sure that we’re still practicing what we preach.

I finally did - and my reward was a fantastic new group to my personal pop/rock list. Right up there with Dylan, Beatles and Stones.

So in the end this ‘Old Dog’ put his musical parameters through their paces and learned another trick or two. I recommend it.

All the best!

Ric

Ric Wasley – Author/Musician

· Shadow of Innocence - Kunati - April 2007

· Acid Test - 2004

http://www.kunati.com/shadow-of-innocence-hip-myster/

New from Kunati Publishing: SHADOW OF INNOCENCE - The Newport Folk Festival provides a groovy backdrop for this fun and exciting mystery set in the music and drug soaked sixties. The Baby Boomers and everyone else sure to enjoy this appealing mystery featuring a pair of musician partners in love and danger. Don't miss Shadow of Innocence! From Kunati Publishing . Available now on; Amazon ,Barnes & Noble and at bookstores everywhere.