After all, television took radio's dramas and, adding the visual element, did them one better. Books, too, have been adapting. But I wonder if we in the publishing industry have in the process lost sight of their distinctives. Books simply cannot match the immediate, visual appeal of television. That is what is missed by conglomerated publishers with their sophisticated marketing techniques, but quite obvious to the junior high boys who wandered into my neighborhood bookstore.
Books remain uniquely equipped to lay out a developed, nuanced argument.
To examine a problem, a question, a hypothesis thoroughly and in detail, there is no better medium than the lowly book. And in terms of storytelling, the novel possesses a unique capacity to depict people on the inside as well as the outside. For rich psychological texture, for sheer spiritual density, no film adaptation can compare to the original text of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Economically speaking, things are already not so good in the publishing industry. But maybe the best thing that can happen is that the industry continue to hurt until we are forced to give up our second- rate imitation of television and film.