I deeply dislike the Scholastic book calendar that comes to my kids’ schools every month or so, mostly because it’s filled with tv/movie-tie-in crap, much of which has plastic toys or stickers or CDs or games attached. I even went on Q to complain about it back when we thought Jian Ghomeshi was just a general douchebag as opposed to an abusive, alleged rapist. But this article argues that they have their place and are important in their own right, at least in the “stepping-stones-to-reading” way.
In this current era of streaming, even the most avid television lovers may find themselves with content-fatigue. If you’re a fan of genre television, especially, the days of only a handful of sci-fi series running are long gone. Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max have blown open the field by making many of the classic shows available while also continually producing new content. Superhero fans, in particular, could drown in the amount of series coming out, as the various television corners of the DC Universe continues to build to overwhelming heights. There once was a time, though, not long ago, that if there was a genre show that you loved… well, there was nothing else like it. Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, and even series as recent as Supernatural began at a time when if you wanted something more just like it, you wouldn’t find it by flipping the channel… you’d find it at the Sci-Fi and Fantasy section of your local bookstore. Licensed media tie-in novels were once the genre fan’s way to fill the heart and soul with more stories, and it’s time we look back on these beautiful books and give them the respect they deserve.
