Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion

Some years ago I lost my copy of Anthony Trollope’s “The Last Chronicle of Barset” and I went to a bookstore to get a fresh copy. There were none on the shelves, but they eventually found me a copy. It cost about $ 15. A few months later I bought a Kindle and discovered that I could download the eBook version of this book for free.

There are voluntary, non-profit organisations that have uploaded 19th century and some early 20th century books into the internet that can be downloaded free. They are books in the public domain. You can even download free, audio versions of many of these books.

Though many might like to read off physical books, can they afford this luxury when eBooks are available for free? Hence, the demand for physical books that are in the public domain will diminish and it may become economically unfeasible for publishers to print these books.

Hence, the big question: will the classics soon go out of print?

Terrence wrote: "Hence, the big question: will the classics soon go out of print?"

I can't imagine that classics that still sell will go out of print unless everything does. The greatest hits of Dickens, Austen, Hugo, Bronte, and so forth still sell because they're still readable and -- because they're adapted for the screen every few years -- still familiar to new waves of readers.

The more obscure and less readable books from the past have probably already gone out of print, as you discovered.

Then again, doesn't "classic" describe books that can continue to interest succeeding generations of readers? Not every old book deserves to live forever just because it's old.

Dover books sells all the classics, many at low prices.

I get my books at The Book Lady in Savannah or online at Abe. It is difficult to find certain classics, but it's possible. I make friend's with librarians. They let me know when sales go on and I usually get a box of treasure for around ten bucks. Classics will always be here as long as there are people like us to read them. Three cheers for good taste! :)

There's also always the Gutenberg Project!

I would be surprised if classics went out of print. More available in digital version? Sure! There are also current printed versions out there for sale or sitting on someone's bookshelf. Check online like ebay or even garage sales or flea markets. There are always old books for sale.

Also, you might find some on sites like Abe Books, Alibris and Better World Books - which all specialize in used books.

I fear this may happen in print at least. Our local huge library carries fewer and fewer books older than 1960, pushing them out for more popularly read books. That odd Amish romance genre has tons of books on the shelf, for instance. I can't find Zorro, but I can get a book on global warming transexual immigrants. Its frustrating.

I don't think so. The classics are just that, classics and people will always look to them to read and to get inspiration.

Lance wrote: "Terrence wrote: "Hence, the big question: will the classics soon go out of print?"

I can't imagine that classics that still sell will go out of print unless everything does. The greatest hits of D..."

I agree with you, Lance. I don't think we have to worry unless everything goes out of print. Classics are classics for a reason :)

I agree, Alexandra. Some books will never be out of print.

I've always been interested in the interaction between books as a commercial objects and books as aesthetic experiences. There often seems to be a tension between the market and the feeling that some parts of life (books) ought to be beyond buying and selling. If very few people will buy a book, it may remain out of print. But that seems a shame. I suppose that's why some countries subsidize the arts--they assume there are artistic objects or experiences that should continue to be available even if the market for them is limited.

I have purchased a number of classic works over the years; many from bookstores and, over the past couple of years, through 'Amazon'.

Just last week I purchased hard-cover copies of 'A Tale of Two Cities' by Charles Dickens and 'Moby Dick' by Herman Melville.

Business 101: As long as there is a market for a product, there will be suppliers available to satisfy the demand.

But should books, especially classics, have to dance to the tune of commercialism? Or any art form, come to that.

V.M. wrote: "But should books, especially classics, have to dance to the tune of commercialism? Or any art form, come to that."

Please, re-read message 13. The point being made is that, if no one wants something, regardless of what it is, there is no logical reason or requirement for anyone to supply that something. As long as there is a demand for something, a supplier will emerge.

Regarding the commercial aspect, even artists and the vendors of their work must eat, pay rent, and wear clothing.

I don't think the great classics will go out of print (Jane Austen, Dickens, Tolstoy, Steinbeck) - I think the books that may have been at risk were minor or less popular works by great writers (Agatha Christie, Conan Doyle, Edith Wharton)
Lately, I've been reading a number of 20th century mysteries that had been popular in the day, but gone out of vogue and out of print - books by writers like Margaret Millar, Doris Miles Disney, Cyril Hare, Margery Allingham. Amazon has made some of these available in Kindle editions, or even by printing inexpensive paperbacks.

I think the classics will still have a market, but the readers who buy them will turn into an exclusive set.

Classics that are in enough demand in print will be available in print. Those that are no longer under copyright are cheap to print--no advances and no royalties--so there is money to be made if the customers are there. Also, the ebook wave seems to have peaked. Ebook sales are no longer growing by leaps and bounds (at least the last time I checked). Audiobooks are now the fastest-growing segment. But I think there are enough people out there who like to hold books in their hands that print will prove far more resilient than was once predicted.

I think many will out of political correctness and "woke" attitudes shocked and dismayed at older attitudes and words used in older books. Just look at the response of younger readers to old books in reviews here.