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Bryan Beal's avatar

I have to confess, I've been a page-turner type for ages. Not consciously so, but that's just what I got sucked into, quite willingly. Then I hit Dune. Even the algorithm on my book app warned me against it, based on my reading. And here I am loving it. I think you're making a solid point.

I do wonder: has this trend you observe opened the gate to AI- generated stuff? Has our lack of willingness to think cracked open the box?

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

What a great feedback, Bryan. I dunno, dude. I think that if you lower the hurdle too much, your muscles won't be trained to jump high anymore. The same holds true for everything else.

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Mir H. S. Quadri's avatar

Are we losing thinking readers? 100% yes. I think that much is beyond doubt. In an age when even Netflix is making their shows "scrolling friendly", there is no way that readers are sitting down looking to bite into something actually meaningful and deep. I think you nailed it by calling modern writing as a bit of an algorithm. I think as writer it just depends who you are trying to cater to. There are certainly many deep thinkers in the world. We just have to be patient enough to find them. Great piece Michael. Always enjoy your writing!

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

Thanks to you, Mir. If we talk about it here, there's hope. And you're right, man, we must be patient. Patience is the virtue of the fearless!

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Nick Winney's avatar

so there might be one reader... when i get round to finishing my first novel... there is hope! 😀

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

There's always hope!

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Michael Edward's avatar

Brilliant Michael! Brilliantly said! Brilliant point! Just goddamn wonderful. I couldn’t agree more with what you said. And for me, I guess it comes down to what the writer wants. How committed are they to creating an authentic piece of art and how concerned are they will pleasing an audience. And it’s not that you can’t do both, but I think, at least for me, your art has to please you first.

Great read bro :)

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Michael Edward's avatar

I think it’s a theme close to many of our hearts as creatives. Reminding ourselves why we’re doing this is always so important. Thanks bro :)

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

Thanks a bunch, bro. I'm glad you liked it. It's a theme I feel very close to. I'm with you, your art has to please you first :)

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Emika Oka's avatar

People have short attention span these days

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

Yeah, that's it.

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Jayshree Gururaj's avatar

I agrée with your observations. Apps causing instant gratification notifications is affecting the attention span causing us to expect the same quick conclusion in new writing, or lose interest in reading the old way. this needs to be cultivated on purpose now, with digital detox hours each day. write regardless… tailor when necessary to meet goals for distribution platform .. does this make sense?

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

It makes sense, Jayshree, but who's got the drive to do it? Simplification is addictive.

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Jayshree Gururaj's avatar

True, and genAi isn't helping!

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

You nailed it!

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Charlotte Pendragon's avatar

I refer to the engaging books you described so eloquently as “airplane books”—those that you can breeze through during a long flight without needing to think too deeply. They hold your attention and make the time fly by on a tedious journey, especially when you feel mentally drained and have already checked your cognitive baggage with your luggage. I know this feeling well, having purchased hundreds of such books in the past.

In today’s fast-paced world, individuals often lack the time to dedicate to thoughtful, introspective reading. The digital realm has captivated the attention of most people, leaving little room for deeper literary explorations. It’s a pity, but that's the perspective I’ve formed based on my own observations.

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Caitriana NicNeacail's avatar

Totally agree. I mean, I love a good page-turner when I'm in the mood for it, but other times I want to chew and absorb what the writer is saying. There's nothing wrong with popcorn, but you can't live off it; you also need long-braised meats and crusty breads and rich red wine.

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Charlotte Pendragon's avatar

What a perfect analogy SDG. We need taste and culture to fill our nutritional reads! 📚

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

"You also need long-braised meats and crusty breads and rich red wine."

A perfect way to describe how good it is to "taste" such good books ;-)

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Evelyn K. Brunswick's avatar

This is an exceptionally timely post. Except it's the kind of post that should always be timely.

Example: I've had about an average of 2-3 likes per post for 36 chapters of my serial which is so far 50k words and we're still only on day 2 of the story. So I can absolutely vouch for the truth of what you say. I have - likewise - thought 'well, maybe it's time I'm upped the pace a bit - who nowadays wants to actually 'fucking think' about anything? Who nowadays wants to read a deep character-study and a whole load of carefully constructed setups for future reveals and twists and mysteries and drama and erm, yeah, like everything that 'literature' is supposed to fucking be about? Or, at least, what literature was about once upon a time... Hmm - maybe it's time to I don't know gratuitously kill a character for no reason whatsoever, regardless of how it detracts from the plot. Or something.'

It's infuriating. Especially watching people become successful by writing formulaic stuff that is, indeed, designed for the short attention span age.

But you know I think there is a conspiracy here. It is part of the subversive dumbing down programme which has been going on for much longer than the Internet and streaming has been around. The powers that shouldn't be simply can't have a clued-up, thinking population, because intelligent people can't be controlled. The dumbing down of literature is a very big part of that.

And of course it reaches into every other aspect of 'culture' as well. You mentioned Led Zep. Would they ever get a record deal nowadays? Not likely. Not unless they had some mind-controlled twerking manufactured talentless female pop star fronting them.

So even though I do hear you with everything you say, I would only object to the use of the 1st person plural 'we' - because ironically you and I wouldn't include ourselves in that. Furthermore, it may not even be the fault of ordinary readers - they have been dumbed down and prevented from discovering all these classics and the 'how to actually read and think at the same time'. The worse a dystopia this world becomes, the harder it is for people to break out of it and eventually the only people who can are those who are irrevocably spiritually old souls.

But there is also a problem with 'writers'. Instead of writing proper literature, many get frustrated and start writing soundbites. Furthermore, they publish themselves on Amazon, thus not only selling their souls (and their royalties) to the very people responsible for the dumbing down, but actually unwittingly supporting the algorithm-guided underlying problem. They should, in other words, take a fucking stand. Before it's too late.

So it is a combination of the dumbing down conspiracy, but it's also writers going along with it.

I, for one, refuse to fucking comply. If people don't like my writing, and are incapable of literary comprehension, then they can fuck off.

...and I shall take their copies of Dostoyevsky and throw them out of their prams. Because they clearly don't need them anymore... Unless they'd rather I went all Raskolnikov on their arses...

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

“It's infuriating. Especially watching people become successful by writing formulaic stuff that is, indeed, designed for the short attention span age.”

Yeah, I agree. It sounds like a plan to make us more and more dumb, one way or another. And as for music, you’re spot on. Some bands these days wouldn’t stand a chance of being signed. You really got me thinking about Linking Park. Emily Armstrong's voice is great, but as you said, you’ve got to adapt to the current market and follow where the money, trends, and politics are going. I think they picked her for that reason more than for her voice. Thanks for great comment, Evelyn!

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Portia's avatar

I hear you, Michael. I love my novels heavy, dense, intense, with long descriptions and digressions, hundreds of characters, musings, answers that lead to more questions. Give me the whole Victorian canon and, of course, the Russians and Proust, Murasaki's "The Tale of Genji", and "The Dream of the Red Chamber", the Indian epics. We need strong readers and brave publishers.

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

"I love my novels heavy, dense, intense..." Yeah, I'm there too.

Proust is a bit much for me, though I'd like to try. But I read the Russians, especially Dostoevsky. And Hugo, Meyrink, and the Italian Eugenio Corti, and Stephenson, Lovecraft, O'Connor, Melville, Poe... Now I'm rereading Golding's Lord of the Flies. They're books that challenge you, and I want to be challenged by what I read.

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Portia's avatar

Melville, sure! Moby Dick is one of the greatest novels ever written, and Hugo, and... oh, there are too many of them. And a challenge is entertaining, even if it requires a bit of work and lots of thinking.

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

I bet you'd love Flannery O'Connor. Ever read anything by her? I'd love to hear your thoughts on her stories.

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Portia's avatar

Flannery O'Connor is on my list, although I'd read her short story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" which knocked me for six. From what I know about her, I'm sure I'll like her writing. Also, this famous sentence –

“Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days.” Thanks for the tip!

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

I know that one! I wrote it in one of my notebooks a while back. I think it was a couple years ago. It's really beautiful and true.

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Portia's avatar

Michael, you and I share the same inspirations!

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A.I. Freeman's avatar

Once upon a time, books did not have to compete with TV. Now they have to compete with YouTube and Instagram feeds. The average attention span is shorter and the options to put that book down and play a video game louder... I think you have to put that hook out there as soon as you can and save the meandering for later or lose your audience.

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Michael B. Morgan's avatar

Yeah, I know you're right. I know the hook's useful. I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for your comment, I really appreciate it.

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