The Novel Is No Longer Novel
The novel may have killed the market for poetry, which retreated into the lyric form, but the novel itself is now in danger of being replaced by the biography, and that new kid on the block—the movie.
Biography has risen in popularity because people are naturally curious about the real lives of other people. Famous folk of all kinds are of interest. This includes celebrities whose claim to fame is just being a celebrity, evil people who are famous for their nefarious actions, and, of course, movies stars or other familiar names. People like to read about people living lives very different from their own too-ordinary lives.
Autobiographies are even better, even though most should probably be classified as fiction, because resemblance to any person living or dead usually is purely coincidental—including that of the author.
But movies and TV have really been the most serious threats to the novel’s popularity. Most people spend more time with movies and TV than with reading anything.
