I keep meeting lifelong readers who can’t find anything they want to read. They walk eagerly into bookstores, only to walk out empty-handed in disappointment, having filtered out everything on the shelves.

Maybe they see a compelling title, so they pick up a book. But when they flip it open, they’re quickly disappointed: they see obvious fluff, dumbed-down writing, shoddy research, bad typesetting, and often cheap binding.

If you’re a reader and this rings a bell, I’m here to tell you: you’re not crazy. You haven’t gotten stupid.

It’s not you; it’s the publishing industry.

Really.

I know because I’ve gotten up close and personal with the publishing industry. And I’m the type of person who gives everyone the benefit of the doubt, to a nearly infinite degree.

So, for years, I blamed myself for having lost the discipline, drive, or passion to read new books.

I assumed it was me who’d changed and gotten worse.

But now that I’ve been involved in the publishing industry, I understand that I wasn’t to blame. Readers like me—thoughtful and curious people who know what it’s like to spend time with a really good book—are being neglected by the publishing industry, which has dropped the ball in its old age. They’ve given up on truly serving readers.

But I haven’t given up. I believe readers still want to be served and are still open to unexpected new books.

I believe it’s still possible for people who enjoyed reading in the past to enjoy reading again in the future.

I even believe that some people who’ve never enjoyed reading before can be captivated and delighted by the right type of book—a book that respects their time.

If you want to fall in love with reading, I suggest Ask Aristotle. Guaranteed free from fluff, dumbed-down writing, shoddy research, bad typesetting, cheap binding, and every other problem permitted by legacy publishers.

Thanks for reading!

Ellen