Adapting a book into a movie is often a massive driver for book sales, but this is ridiculously amazing! The Crazy Rich Asians film has already made $208 million at the box office. Now, the trilogy has sold more than 3 million copies, continues to range at the top of bestseller lists, and went back to press 54 times, according to Doubleday.
Good News for Book Publishing?
Perhaps the monumental success of Kevin Kwan and his Crazy Rich Asian trilogy is a hopeful indicator of the book publishing industry in general. The Pew Research Center still reports that 74% of Americans have read a book in the last 12 months.
Bookstores are closing, and the book publishing industry is changing. Maybe our genre preferences are changing, as The Guardian recently reported. We turn to poetry in hard times. Perhaps it speaks most eloquently, delving into the depths of our shared experiences.
Whatever the case, I love what N.Scott Momaday said in an interview: “[P]oets are the people who are the most insightful among us. They are best positioned to enlighten, encourage, and inspire us. What better thing could you be than a poet? That’s how I think of it.”