We have heard recently that the national radio FM Addis 97.1 has begun a 100 day reading habit promotion in the country. These 100 days are promoted by interviewing and asking the experience of reading among well known personalities in various fields, and people very much familiar with books in general. These intellectuals are asked to advise Ethiopian readers, suggest books that need more attention than others. They are asked to recommend the three most impressive books that they have read and would like to see others read them and experience what they did. It is often stated that reading a book could change the life of a person just as watching a movie could have the same effect as art is a powerful weapon that can go deep into the psyche of a person. It has the power of changing the attitude of people. That is why it is said that such choice can be vital.
Records show that reading habits are not particularly spread in Ethiopia as authors are heard lamenting expressly their dismay and disappointment that their efforts in writing books has not met their hopes and expectations. Taking in to consideration the size of the population in this country they argue that the proportion of those who buy books or even go to libraries and read is dismal, very poor. And yet there are millions of students in Ethiopia who would need to read books of all sorts, not only academic textbooks or manuals in their field of study or specialization to pass exams, but also other stories and experiences written in books.
Very often students read only those books which their teachers order them to read. They are not seen voluntarily engaging in the habit of reading not only for academic purposes such as research or preparing certain exams but also for pleasure, entertainment, and passing some leisure time by enjoying reading. This extends to newspapers and magazines, journals etc because the press also suffers from buyers, subscribers and readers. This testifies to the fact that reading habits are not well developed in our country.
In the past few years there has been some significant progress in reading particularly about political issues. People seem to realize that these issues affect their day to day livelihood and they are anxious to know what is going to happen and what communications the government may be interested in conveying to citizens. But book sellers say that even psychological, spiritual, biographical and historical accounts or novels attract some audience among habitual readers. However, they are very few if we count the potential number of readers the country could produce. ‘Why is this happening’ is a major ask and worth looking at deeply.
Various explanations have been given but the most fundamental authors note is the fact that reading habits have not been persistently and permanently promoted and publicized to the level required, especially in the early days of schools among young and growing pupils.
The lack of massive promotion of readership, telling readers that it is very important and useful to read for one’s life has not been well stated, including in schools, because eventually, psychologists say, reading habits must be developed in childhood days. Children who are conscious about the importance of reading will very probably love to read and continue with that practice through out their life. They find out that it is the right road to academic achievement and success in their prospective life. It helps them face exams with confidence given also their knowledge they get from reading a variety of books, experiences of others who are well versed in life. They are bound to learn from the experience of others who may have passed certain difficult stages in their lives and how they overcame them.
If there were enough readers, authors would certainly be encouraged to write more books. Reading clubs and circles in schools and even outside are very important to promote readership because people can discuss books and exchange ideas presented in the books they read. Admittedly there are several radio and television programs on books and readership but evidently they have not driven the message in an original and interesting manner. Many people say that it probably has not been managed to win the hearts of radio or TV audiences.
There must be something lacking in the programming or in the hours of broadcast or explanation of the programs or shows and who presents the program, the interviewees and ideas expressed. It would probably be more convincing and attractive if popular and revered personalities such as artists take the floor and recommend their fans and admirers to read books. It may be more effective and the 100 days of promotion of books and readership that has been launched by FM Addis 97.1 should in this respect be admired and given all the attention it deserves because it is a very good initiative. It has the potential of extricating millions of youths who seem to be addicted to certain social media outlets distracting them completely from other intellectual activities such as reading books.
The content of these social media outlets are often presented in a manner that can attract and keep the attention of youths for long hours. Social media such as Facebook and Tik Tok have been inundating our society lately as it is very easily available and books and readership have been severely affected by this modern social phenomenon.
Of course social media do have their own positive role in society but if they are used for the wrong reasons, and purposes then it would be time to regulate them without encroaching on peoples’ freedom of expression protected by constitutional principles. In fact, even writing books is an aspect of exercising this constitutional rule of freedom of expression.
Regarding the role of books and bookstores, authors lament that there are too few readers and with the cost of publication and paper skyrocketing particularly very lately, they say it is inconceivable to go ahead and publish books. Our writers are not assisted by editors and publishing houses who can cover the costs of publication as it is usual in many countries. Even some African countries have shown us how books can be published thanks to these investors who know the potential of the market. In fact, the current economic situation would not stimulate potential writers because they know they can never find the necessary finances to publish their work. They would consider their efforts a waste of time, energy and resources.
If on the other hand there were houses that are ready to publish books and authors are not worried about the market or the income they may secure from the sale of their intellectual produce, it would further stimulate their creative potential. They would also commit more time to produce a good work. This would undoubtedly attract more clients, more people interested in reading. The publicity for books would grow as we know now seeing on TV sponsorship of certain popular talk shows or dramas. Books would be publicized just as commercial banks, diapers, real estate companies and soaps with which we are inundated in our electronic media. Publicity for readership and books must increase because it can contribute for society’s cultural advancement. Writers would not be limited in their creation too worried to embark on this profession even if they may have the passion of writing books or engage in some research and produce a good academic work. They are limited by the lack of resources.
This however is not to say that we should despair and abandon all efforts of publishing books or trying to sell them. We have seen lately certain books sponsored by commercial firms and others particularly famous and popular writers who have acquired through time their faithful readers engage in publishing books and even advertise them on our media. This shows that the potential is there. We must try to expand our efforts to make a good turn around and develop a new generation of passionate readers.
Our investors must assess the market and embark on it rather than produce only merchandises that are easily sellable and profitable. If they engage in this industry of financing authors and alleviating the burden of writers by sharing with them the eventual profits, they would also augment their popularity among the huge population of youths who in one way or another cannot abstain from reading, especially if the product is interesting. For these companies it would also be taken as fulfilling their social or corporate responsibilities; giving back to the communities from which they earned riches and reputation. Their names would be associated with the good work they are doing and they would be more credited than those who are not ready to engage with similar activities.
Another idea of expanding readership and encouraging works of art would be ranking the popularity of books by stating ‘book of the month’ and ‘book of the year’ and other parades as are done with films and songs etc that occupy a good chunk of our media including the very popular phenomenon of social media. Awards for the excellent work would also have a good impact in this respect.
The potential of promoting readership is hence unlimited also because readership is so low currently. The recent constructions of libraries such as Abrohot must be admired and more of the same need to expand in every city of the country. The expansion of ‘chat’ houses and ‘shisha’ smoking shops and residences that are attracting more and more youths contributing to many social problems including crimes would be restrained for lack of clients.
Hence, we must hail the efforts of FM Addis 97.1 and other efforts must be followed by other media outlets and create a new generation of passionate readers. It is unacceptable that even 3000 copies of a book can not be sold in Ethiopia for months. With more than 32 universities and thousands of students, and hundreds of thousands of teachers at all levels, we must worry when authors do not manage to sell even a thousand of their books in a short period of time. Special consideration must be made to ameliorate this situation. The efforts of our mass media are very much needed to raise awareness. Similarly, the business community should seriously consider this gap and try to help fill it with their financial muscles. This must be taken as a growing industry and in the end, it could result very profitable.
If we consider the experience of certain countries, we will find out that we have a lot to learn because publishing companies approach famous writers and give them lavish contacts so that they write a book. With the publicity of promotion of the product, they create a huge expectation among the readers and you see buyers queuing to buy the product. This may look like farfetched for a ‘poor’ country such as ours, but we must remember that the advanced economies reached this level from very modest beginnings. What we need to do is focus on serious objectives such as this and free ourselves from conflict and disagreements on virtually every political or social idea and waste our time and resources stalling our economy and growth and get distracted from doing what will in the long run is useful for our country. We should be careful not to stifle the bright prospects of the coming generation. In this regard books have a huge role. Reading is a window from where one can watch the world.
BY FITSUM GETGACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 27 APRIL 2024
