The annual preview of religious titles by Publishers Weekly (July 13) for the fall book season suggests that many recent fads in religious reading and practice are receding.
Author Lynn Garrett suggests that once-popular books on angelology, everyday spirituality, and 12-step therapies, are in low demand for the first time in recent years. What seems to be the new trend is “stability and maturity” among religious book readers. While the general market demand remains high, publishers and sellers are responding to buyer requests for a return to such long-standing favorites as Biblical biographies.
Several houses have titles on Moses ready for this fall. Female heroes of the Bible, another genre with a long past, is being offered in titles from at least six publishers. And one of the most venerable of subject matters, religion and science, has “surged” back for Fall reading. Finally, the highly popular religion “celebrity bio” has clearly fallen upon hard times among potential readers.
In sum, the trend that there is no new trend, may portend a shift among seekers towards issues and direction from more traditional sources than have been popular in the 1990s.
— By Erling Jorstad.