The Lasting Power Of Books

 

I recently re-read two inspirational/self-help classics that I had initially read 30-40 years ago, and I have to say that I was not as enamored with them as I was upon first being introduced to them.

Why?

Did my tastes change? Have subsequent experiences altered me? Did reading a thousand books since then change my perspective? Have these books lost their timeless edge, perhaps replaced by other books and conceptualizations of a life now so heavily viewed through the prism of technology?

I first read those books when I was in my twenties, when I was still forming who I would become. Up to then, my mind was quite moldable and impressionable. Everything carried a greater weight to it because I did not have a life perspective as mature as the one I now hold. Everything mattered more then. But I should caution myself. Every day is a new stage in one’s life, and whatever I think of the world and of my life in it today will no doubt continue to evolve and change. But it is in our youth that we are least informed and hungriest to learn.

One of the books, As A Man Thinketh, by James Allen, was published in 1903. That is six generations ago. Think of all that has happened in the world since then, in all areas: science, technology, medicine, politics, wars, language, and even in human values and social interactions.  The world of 1903 is far removed from life in 2026. That alone does not make it irrelevant or useless, but it may be a contributing factor as to why I struggled to rediscover what made me fall in love with it originally.

Did the mere passage of time — in the world and my life — render this once-influential and extraordinary book to a much lower status?

Books don’t change; but the times do.  

The other book, Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning fared better but still failed to shock, illuminate, and inform me the way it first had. I might be asking for the impossible. We can’t be surprised when we know what is coming, and we can’t always expect to feel the same about something so many years later, but I am disappointed that neither book appeared to be as good as I once thought. 

Times change, people evolve, and new content is produced constantly. It gets harder and harder for a book to stand the test of time. Some do, but most just fade away.  The only question one needs to answer is: How many generations can a book remain relevant, be respected, and still get read?  

Can your book break through now? Will it be read 50 years from now? 100?  

It appears to be that most books have a shelf life, no matter how many millions of copies were sold, how many awards won, how many great reviews, or how many social media likes were garnered. I am humbled to see how improbable it is for one to even get their 15 minutes of fame, and I am further humbled to see how even once mega-popular books can simply go unread by a new generation or even seem no better than ordinary when re-read decades later.

Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator! 

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 8,200,000 page views. With nearly 5,700+ posts over the past 15 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2026, 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2026.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum