So Many Books, So Little Time

Rosemary Goring comments on the findings by Mexican author Gabriel Zaid (So Many Books: Reading and Publishing in an Age of Abundance) that a new book is published every 30 seconds.

I’m not sure who should be more scared by that figure: authors who realise the extent of the competition they face; literary editors who, with the help of a fork-lift truck, have just spring-cleaned the book cupboard of languishing review copies only to lie awake thinking of all the new progeny being born while they sleep; or the forestry and recycling industries, who need to commandeer Douglas Firs and wheelie bins even faster than authors can type.

This can only be good news for Larry Page and Sergei Brin, whose new product, Google Print, claims to provide better access to printed information.