How to Discover New Things?

I woke up this morning and thought "I have to write today." Not I'd like to or I hope I have a chance to while my son is practicing his new ability to climb onto our couch unassisted (with glee, I might add), but I have to. I told myself I didn't care if it was a page in my journal, updating my son's baby book, a new blog post or a fresh outline for an old WIP I have, I just knew I needed to be verbalizing thoughts on either paper or keyboard (considering this is a new entry to read, I think it's safe to say which option won out so far). It was a pleasant surprise to have that feeling. I had a drama teacher tell our class once that to be a successful actor, you can't want to act, you have to need to act. Of course, there are other factors that contribute to success besides perseverance (honing one's craft, and talent, for example), but I think that people with a certain amount of drive may try harder to reach their goals. Certainly not a guarantee of success, but it can't hurt.

So, I watched the Grammy Awards the other night, for one main reason. Yes, the fashion hits or misses are often entertaining, and rooting for an artist you like to get some recognition is fun. The draw for me, though, is the performances--but I don't necessarily tune in to see Mick Jagger or Barbra Streisand do their thing, I want to discover someone new (to me, anyway). Years ago this was how I found out about an incredible performer named Bobby McFerrin (way before his "Don't Worry, Be Happy" fame). Based on his Grammy performance, I went out and bought a CD of his, which in turn made me buy two more. This year, I fell in love with the sounds of Mumford and Sons and the Avett Brothers. But, not everyone gets to perform on national TV, so how am I supposed to find new music? Once upon a time, my favorite thing in the world was to go into New York to Tower Records and spend my time perusing the bins of records (yes, I'm old enough to still own records), looking for music that looked interesting, or seeing that my favorite artists had new albums out. Years later, there was an independent record store not far from my apartment where I looked forward to stopping in and seeing new recordings of musicals or vocalists I didn't even know about. Well, neither that store nor Tower exists anymore, so the only place I can browse tactilely now is a major chain with an extremely limited selection if I want anything beyond well-known artists or current Top-40. I went to one of these stores not long ago looking for a CD by a moderately well-known band, and there wasn't even a plastic bin card with their name on it. That made me sad. How will anyone discover their music unless the CDs show up in an Amazon "customers also bought" display while someone's buying some other CD? (Not to completely knock this feature, since I've discovered some interesting new items this way, but it's awfully limiting...)

The same principle can be applied to books. Sure, there are currently more places available to buy books than music (thank goodness--for now), but there are fewer than there used to be. If bookstores go the way of the dinosaur, as some doomsayers say they might, how will anyone be able to get that thrill of picking up a book with an exciting cover, and deciding after they read the jacket copy that they must buy it? Yes, there's still word of mouth, and there are libraries and Amazon reviews, but it feels like it's getting harder and harder for people to discover these things on their own.

Maybe it's just me being an old fogey, but I still like being able to seek out new things in books and music and find them myself, sometimes by happenstance. If I get published someday, how will people find my books if they're not in every big box store? (I imagine myself going door-to-door with my book as if I'm selling Girl Scout cookies.) I don't want to be limited to browsing only what a mass merchandiser has room for in their limited book section. For now, I will continue to go to my favorite book store, Children's Book World, and browse to my heart's content. I know I'll find something new and good--I always do.