Acharya Prashant addresses an observation about the changing landscape of books available in bookstores. He concurs that in the last five to seven years, categories like philosophy have completely disappeared, and the spirituality section has thinned out significantly. Most books being sold now are lightweight and from the world of entertainment. He contrasts this with the situation 30-40 years ago, when bookstores were like temples, filled with books on spirituality, philosophy, and good literature. The speaker explains that the reason for this shift is that today, the author is not what is being read. To get a book published and displayed in a bookstore, one must first be a celebrity, usually from the world of entertainment like sports or cinema. Bookstores now display pictures of these celebrities, not of actual authors. He laments that very few people today would know the names of the top five or ten purely literary authors in India or the world. Instead, the public is drawn to books by film actresses writing about pregnancy or their marriages, cricketers, politicians, or their wives. These are individuals known for reasons other than their literary merit. People are led to believe that a famous item girl can become a profound writer. Acharya Prashant connects this trend to a broader cultural degradation, exemplified by modern cinema. He notes that 30-40 years ago, films by directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee featured grounded, relatable characters. However, since the 1990s, many films feature wealthy NRI protagonists, promoting a lifestyle of consumerism and greed. The audience is sold a fantasy, like a life in Switzerland with a red car, and they are attracted to the character embodying this fantasy, not necessarily the actor. This fosters a fallen value system where there is no place for spirituality, money is flaunted, and the protagonist often succumbs to lecherous sexuality. This is a subtle process that people, lacking self-observation, do not understand. Consequently, books on philosophy and spirituality are disappearing because they encourage self-reflection, which makes a life of blind consumption difficult. If consumption is the ideal, people will not be interested in thinkers like Plato or Nisargadatta Maharaj, as they confront them with their reality. The poetry section has also vanished, and true poets like Nirala, Agyeya, or Dhumil are a thing of the past. He dismisses modern TV poets as jesters. He also highlights the decline of the Hindi language, noting that the Hindi section in bookstores is now minuscule, and reading Hindi is often considered rustic. He expresses deep concern for the future of a country whose youth has a strong inferiority complex and has abandoned its own language and culture, pointing out the irony that while few speak English, most bestsellers are in English. He concludes that it is no longer possible to be a true author or man of literature in today's times; one would starve.