77 Million Boomers: Let’s Ignore Them
The Earl here, blogging from HRH J Mansfield Prison. I very much enjoyed my visit to Lloyds of London and Fenchurch Market. Now that I’m fully insured against Writers Block, I can relax and focus my attention on you, dear reader, and, of course, our beloved publishing industry. The heart soars even as the advice I extended in my Agony Column is finally coming to fruition: Baby Boomers, Who Needs ‘em? Apparently the publishing industry was playing close attention when I wrote, “Everyone is sick of baby boomers. Sure, they grew up reading, but now, they can’t even read the directions on aspirin bottles without consulting a Friend or Loved One. How many Boomers does it take to open an aspirin bottle? How can they be expected to wrangle an entire book?”
Prophetic words. The major publishers have heeded the call. They understand that the future lies with the young. They have may have jumped the gun by a decade or two, but they are greeting the future. Despite the Kaavya Viswanathan setback, I foresee a time when authors are forced into retirement at age twenty five. Like Tennis or Pop Music, we’re forever young!
In another thirty years most boomers will be dead. That’s not sexy. That’s yucky, man. And we’re not about yucky, are we?
The Earl’s Agony Column appears on alternating Saturdays in September. The opinions expressed by the earl are not the opinions of the Druidical & Literary: we think that Boomers are perfectly capable of reading a book if the print is of sufficient size. LIKE THIS.