I told him that the books aimed at children and teens that were selling were the ones that the Ministry of Education had promoted as "library recommendations," and that the decline in reading among children was largely the fault of their parents.
"Parents these days don't read books themselves, but they feel they should make their children read. Since they aren't readers, however, they have no idea what to give their children. That's why they cling to the recommendations from the Ministry of Education. Those books are all insufferably boring and as a result, the kids learn to hate books. It's a vicious cycle, with no end in sight."