The death of bookstores is bad news for Thailand

[webfact]

STREETWISE
The death of bookstores is bad news for Thailand
Achara Deboonme

Reading has been a favourite hobby for me since childhood.

BANGKOK: -- As a youngster, I was sent out to buy my father's favourite weekly magazines - mostly mysteries involving ghostly encounters. As a reward I could buy myself comic books.

Then my elder siblings introduced me to new kinds of magazines: one was on novels and another was about mysteries like UFOs and ancient civilisations. I was soon addicted, but I had to find my own copies when I left home to study in Bangkok. I discovered some in bookstores, where I was also drawn to short stories and other stuff. Some could be found at school and university libraries, where I got access to thousands of titles in other subjects.

Life three decades ago was very different to now, when gadgets take up most of our free (and not free) time. With no smartphones, more people killed time by reading. I always had a book in my bag and the habit has stuck (though I also spend time scrolling on my smartphone, of course).

Learning enough of the language, I started to read English books. Needless to say, they broadened my world. Some were new to Thailand and hadn't yet been translated into Thai. Authors like Isaac Asimov mesmerised me with their avant-garde ideas. Others, like Michael Crichton, inspired me with visions that made the fantastic sound conceivable. (When his now-famous novel "Jurassic Park" hit shelves, how many of us were convinced that we could clone a dinosaur?)

I've always admired bookstores that allow readers the freedom to explore their products. Only through exploration can customers discover new reading stuff. This was how I first encountered American author James Patterson and his brutal serial killers (books that perhaps help to explain why the US is more blasé about killing sprees than other developed countries). Read any novel by John Grisham and you realise why American lawyers are so fond of filing lawsuits. Dan Brown, on the other hand, hooked me with his extensive historical research.

The author's name and the brief synopsis on the back cover is enough to draw loyal followers, but what about new readers? Without the chance to explore - mostly the first chapter - how can we get familiar with a new authors' work?

Yes, it's true that browsers can get careless with the copies on bookshelves. Some flip through them so quickly that I cringe, waiting for the sound of ripping paper, while others stuff them back like dirty laundry.

It's no wonder that some stores now wrap books.

Bookstores have also changed in another way - to match the reading habits of Thais. At one time, teen and fashion magazines were the trend, fuelled by better national transport infrastructure and rising incomes. Then came the "how to" books, serving the rise of the corporate world and the ambitions of those who worked in it. Soon, demand from Thailand's growing army of entrepreneurs saw autobiographies of rich businessmen dominate the shelves, along with teen novels featuring Japanese manga-style covers. All Thai bookstores also now offer a variety of titles translated from foreign languages, many of them guides on how to use hi-tech gadgets.

But will they all join the trend for wrapping books to prevent readers from testing their wares?

For me, stopping readers from thumbing is equivalent to shutting the door for new authors. As new authors can attract new readers, this means bookstores can only expect a shrinking number of customers. Youngsters are turning to electronic devices for their all their reading, perhaps not realising the strain this puts on their eyes. Yes, it's true: real books are better for your eyesight. But few people know it, which means bookstores might soon disappear for good.

It's no surprise to learn that SE-Education's profits have been dwindling over the past few years. From Bt243 million in 2010, the chain of bookstores that reaches across Thailand saw its net profit plummet to Bt72.29 million last year.

If the trend continues, paper titles may be printed for annual book fairs alone, making fairs the only venues for book shopping aside from e-shopping sites.

That could be disastrous for Thailand. The country's literacy rate, as measured by the World Bank, was 96 per cent in 2010. That puts us much higher than Afghanistan (32 per cent) and on par with Singapore.

But when we pause to consider that the figures refer to the percentage of people over the age of 15 who can understand simple script and numbers used in everyday life, this is no cause for celebration.

I shudder to think what Thailand's literacy rate would be if basic knowledge of science and technology were part of the criteria.

Another cause for concern is that only a small percentage of the population is interested in learning more about Thailand's history (let alone the history of our neighbours).

Reading inspires new ideas and new opportunities. And while it's true that digital books offer greater convenience, research has shown that readers retain less information from scrolling e-books than they do from turning the pages of their paper equivalents.

So it would be more than just sad if all bookstores had to close their doors: it would be a serious blow to hopes of instilling a reading habit in future generations of Thais.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/The-death-of-bookstores-is-bad-news-for-Thailand-30243321.html


-- The Nation 2014-09-16

[Fiddlesticks]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

[Bkungbank]

We have to admit that new technology change the world, 20 years ago we use to send film to shop for develop and have to wait for 2-3 days with much expensive price to pay. Children now days just upload and sharing with friends and family.

We don't expect children carry books around only hand phone with all the information in it , I still remember stealing my dad sex magazine but today children easily access in internet . The world has change and adaption is the key for survival.

[NongKhaiKid]

Less Kom- icks being sold ?

[EricBerg]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

It's a global development. Bookstores are closing down. Paper newspapers and magazines are under pressure as well. Internet replaces them. Same as tv is losing ground to the net. Societies are changing, as they always did.

That has nothing to do with minds turning to mush, nor is it a Thai prerogative. Employers now seek other qualities in staff than they did decades ago. Mostly the elderly cannot cope with it and see it as changes for the worse. They are wrong though.

[Gsxrnz]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

That sounds like a generic ThaiVisa "off the shelf" response to a news article such as this. Is the Thai journalist that wrote the article the exception that proves your rule?

By inference, you're implying the minds of the young of other (read western) cultures will not be turned to mush with access to the same accoutrements such as TV and call phones.

I got news for you - the minds of western youth is already mush and we've got a 30 year head start on Thailand.

[casualbiker]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

It's a global development. Bookstores are closing down. Paper newspapers and magazines are under pressure as well. Internet replaces them. Same as tv is losing ground to the net. Societies are changing, as they always did.

That has nothing to do with minds turning to mush, nor is it a Thai prerogative. Employers now seek other qualities in staff than they did decades ago. Mostly the elderly cannot cope with it and see it as changes for the worse. They are wrong though.

Why are they wrong? Reading is a good thing, it helps develop imagination.

[EricBerg]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

It's a global development. Bookstores are closing down. Paper newspapers and magazines are under pressure as well. Internet replaces them. Same as tv is losing ground to the net. Societies are changing, as they always did.

That has nothing to do with minds turning to mush, nor is it a Thai prerogative. Employers now seek other qualities in staff than they did decades ago. Mostly the elderly cannot cope with it and see it as changes for the worse. They are wrong though.

Why are they wrong? Reading is a good thing, it helps develop imagination.

They are wrong because a stand-still is not possible. People and societies are changing in a higher pace all the time. The integration of computer technology in societies has much more impact on life than the industrial revolution once had. Average age of people is going up too. New challenges, opportunities and problems pop up all the time and need to be dealt with. Imaginative skills probably are higher now than ever before.

[jacky54]

I always thought books were like kryptonite to Thais, apart from comic books of course

[BSJ]

The times they are a changin', and they always will!

[reiltin]

You can read them in the bath,the battery won't fail on the final chapter,they can be signed by the author,the book you read as a boy can be read by your own children(more worn and torn but no less enjoyable!) Nothing like the printed word on paper, the feel of a real book,even musty aged books bring something to the their perusal not least... whos read it before?What life they lived? And did they enjoy it as much as me?...

[BillyBobThai]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

My good man, it's not just Thailand unfortunately, it is all of this generation world wide. I just read an excerpt from an interview with Steve Jobs where he was asked what his kids thought of the I-Pad, and he said they had never used one. We limit what our kids are allowed to see.

God help the world when this next generation takes power.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/fashion/steve-jobs-apple-was-a-low-tech-parent.html?_r=0

Edited September 16, 2014 by BillyBobThai

[tx22cb]

Is it just me, or do I get the impression that everyone who comments negatively on this thread either is an author/writer (e.g. the OP) or is over 50 years old (like me)?

Today's youth will not mourn the resource-intensive books (trees, ink etc), just as us oldies do not pine for log tables and 8-track tapes.

Edited September 16, 2014 by tx22cb

[BugJackBaron]

Books are not going anywhere. No more so than youtube has replaced movies.

The pendulem will swing again.

Each has its strong and weak points.

Many of my students are fed up with ebooks and actually prefer to, well, print them out!

And yes, they are under 50.

[Snig27]

I always thought books were like kryptonite to Thais, apart from comic books of course

You thought wrong - data last year said that Thais were the top readers on the planet and it still has more bookshops per head of population than any other nation on earth. Any large mall in Thailand has two or three bookstores. Try and find that in the US or the UK these days.

[upena]

I believe, on average, Thais read 5 books per year. So, closing book stores is no big deal.

[Kasset Tak]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

My students don't even know the latin alphabet, I gave them a worksheet to translate from English to Thai using dictionaries. They managed to finish 15 out of 30 words in one hour and told me that many of the words where not in the dictionary. So I showed them that if they just looked at the right place they would find them all in the dictionary, I checked (dictionary made in Thailand, not Oxford...) while making the handout to be sure as it was about agriculture and not common conversion... And these students are studying in higher vocational education (18+)!

[trogers]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

It's a global development. Bookstores are closing down. Paper newspapers and magazines are under pressure as well. Internet replaces them. Same as tv is losing ground to the net. Societies are changing, as they always did.

That has nothing to do with minds turning to mush, nor is it a Thai prerogative. Employers now seek other qualities in staff than they did decades ago. Mostly the elderly cannot cope with it and see it as changes for the worse. They are wrong though.

The forest is safe.

[khunpa]

Had no idea, they had real book stores here, with real books in them!

Thought it was only gossip magazines and cartoons.

[soalbundy]

I believe, on average, Thais read 5 books per year. So, closing book stores is no big deal.

As many as that ? You do mean books right ? or does that include ghost stories in comic form ? My step daughter,19 years old,saw me reading a book in Thai and i heard her whisper to her mother,'" Why is he doing that'' as if i was punishing myself.

[coolkat]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

My students don't even know the latin alphabet, I gave them a worksheet to translate from English to Thai using dictionaries. They managed to finish 15 out of 30 words in one hour and told me that many of the words where not in the dictionary. So I showed them that if they just looked at the right place they would find them all in the dictionary, I checked (dictionary made in Thailand, not Oxford...) while making the handout to be sure as it was about agriculture and not common conversion... And these students are studying in higher vocational education (18+)!

Latin alphabet? Isn't latin a dead language? Please would an average western kid even know the latin alphabet?

[tx22cb]

Books are not going anywhere. No more so than youtube has replaced movies.

The pendulem will swing again.

Each has its strong and weak points.

Many of my students are fed up with ebooks and actually prefer to, well, print them out!

And yes, they are under 50.

Agree, Youtube and cinemas are different experiences - I'd never get a date if I asked a girl to watch Youtube with me!

Books have been around for hundreds of years. ebooks - just a decade

Give ebooks another 15 years to mature - then we'll have

a) screens which are 50% thinner, flexible and tougher

battery technology which will last days

c) cost will drop, with mass production in full swing

d) memory storage will be tiny yet hold TBs

e) better and faster ebook software

f) more equitable, new method of charging/paying pennies for books/mags

10 years after digital cameras were invented, many professionals still preferred film. However, today, with advances in technology (20+ MPixels, fast recording speed, higher storage cards), even professionals overwhelmingly use digital cameras.

[halloween]

Latin alphabet? Isn't latin a dead language? Please would an average western kid even know the latin alphabet?

I came, I saw, I wept in despair.

[bitcoinbob]

reading is the cornerstone of any language . especially the lifespan of the language . if reading is not going on thai will end up as a dead language probably a lot sooner than people want to think about, but it looks certain. probably in 25 years or less

[halloween]

You thought wrong - data last year said that Thais were the top readers on the planet and it still has more bookshops per head of population than any other nation on earth. Any large mall in Thailand has two or three bookstores. Try and find that in the US or the UK these days.

That may have more to do with Amazon and internet sellers than lack of readers.

[Gsxrnz]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

My students don't even know the latin alphabet, I gave them a worksheet to translate from English to Thai using dictionaries. They managed to finish 15 out of 30 words in one hour and told me that many of the words where not in the dictionary. So I showed them that if they just looked at the right place they would find them all in the dictionary, I checked (dictionary made in Thailand, not Oxford...) while making the handout to be sure as it was about agriculture and not common conversion... And these students are studying in higher vocational education (18+)!

I'm curious - if your students don't even know the Latin alphabet, why do you expect them to be able to use an English dictionary? You may as well ask a native English speaker with rudimentary Thai language skills to use a Thai dictionary. I'd suggest that 15 words translated in one hour would be nearly a miracle.

Doesn't it rather reflect on you as an educator that you deemed it necessary to give them such a task without ensuring they had the skillset to achieve it - or perhaps devote the time more practically and teach them how to effectively use a dictionary in a foreign language (English)?

I can show you a classroom full of 6 year old Thai kids that know both the Thai and English alphabets intimately and have reading/writing/language skills in Thai and English that would devastate a teacher of similar aged kids in New Zealand. I would estimate that my 10 year old Grandson back home would be struggling to match the same level of literacy as these Thai kids in English alone - never mind the second language issue.

Admittedly, these Thai kids I describe are not the norm.....but neither are your 18 year olds that don't (according to you) even know their Latin alphabet.

So lets' not generalise too much or claim that one example (yours or mine) are typical by inference.

[AjarnMartin]

I always thought books were like kryptonite to Thais, apart from comic books of course

You thought wrong - data last year said that Thais were the top readers on the planet and it still has more bookshops per head of population than any other nation on earth. Any large mall in Thailand has two or three bookstores. Try and find that in the US or the UK these days.

Which data? Where? I would love to read this... But is was probably written and researched by the Thai literary equivalent of TAT for tourist data... :-)

[dru2]

I always thought books were like kryptonite to Thais, apart from comic books of course

You thought wrong - data last year said that Thais were the top readers on the planet and it still has more bookshops per head of population than any other nation on earth. Any large mall in Thailand has two or three bookstores. Try and find that in the US or the UK these days.

"Data said"????

[masuk]

You can read them in the bath,the battery won't fail on the final chapter,they can be signed by the author,the book you read as a boy can be read by your own children(more worn and torn but no less enjoyable!) Nothing like the printed word on paper, the feel of a real book,even musty aged books bring something to the their perusal not least... whos read it before?What life they lived? And did they enjoy it as much as me?...

Totally agree. My uncles used to get British 'annuals' and kept them for years. As soon as I got to my grandparents' house, I'd dive for the book cupboard and haul out a 20 year old 'Champion' annual, ca. 1930.

I still have in storage in Australia, my first books which my late mother kept for me. One of them is A A Milne's 'Now we are Six', my very first book. Wow, that was 70 years ago. The battery is not flat! Christopher Robin is still avoiding the cracks in the footpath, the Knight needs oil for his armour.

How many Aussies still remember the book below?

However, I must admit I'm a fan of ebooks, as I couldn't possibly afford a book a week at the prices they are here and overseas. It's also much easier to carry a whole heap of books on a Kindle, and not in my luggage.

[jcisco]

Judging by the quality of the Thai educational system, it would appear that bookstores are moot since few of today's students care to read (or are unable to read and comprehend anything with any depth). All today's students want are cell phones and TV. We will see the young Thai's minds turn to mush and with it the hopes of a better tomorrow for Thailand. Well done Thailand!

My students don't even know the latin alphabet, I gave them a worksheet to translate from English to Thai using dictionaries. They managed to finish 15 out of 30 words in one hour and told me that many of the words where not in the dictionary. So I showed them that if they just looked at the right place they would find them all in the dictionarYo

Latin alphabet? Isn't latin a dead language? Please would an average western kid even know the latin alphabet?

You aren't serious are you???? I'll give you a hint, the latin alphabet goes A B C D .........

What did you think, our alphabet was called the English Alphabet.... or American? I dunno... you aren't big on history I take it.