I noticed that too, but I suspect that competition from cinema has bifurcated books into two distinct products, novels and stories. The novel responds to the ch

I noticed that too, but I suspect that competition from cinema has bifurcated books into two distinct products, novels and stories. The novel responds to the challenge from cinema with interior monologue and writing with literary merit. The plot unfolds five to ten times slower in the reader's library than would a similar plot projected in a cinema. The story tries to compete with cinema on pace by adopting a simple writing style that a young reader can devour at great speed. It fails, but only by a factor of two, and it is cheaper to buy than a cinema ticket, by a similar factor. A story is cheaper to write than a movie is to make, perhaps 100 or 1000 times cheaper. That matters to the reader because, each year, there are many more stories to chose from than there are films. The reader can find the particular kind of story that they especially like, which makes up for the fact it is only writing and not a film.