A thought-provoking article

[kaederose]

I was reading an online paper, and a particular article stuck out to me.  Partly because I just love books, and partly because it's the business I'm in and the emerging trends and technology are known for strong implications.

Here's the article, about the death of books.

Comments

Long live books!

[derv_riot_star]

I don't like this e-book business. For me, a book is more than just a bunch of words. It's the flick of the pages, the weight of it in your hands, the texture on your fingers...the smell...trying not to break the spine *lol* But I get the feeling that in a decade a two 'books' will start becoming a thing of the past :( Us old-timers will have this odd quaint fascination with words on paper and teenagers will read books so they seem edgy and cool ^^;

But in general I don't get the feeling that the market as such is struggling (over here anyway). Reading always comes up as the top UK pass-time and we spend a shit-load on books and there are stupidly long waiting lists at libraries ~___~ My main concern is that the format will change. Sad, but its gonna happen :(

Re: Long live books!

[kaederose]

Oh my god, I can't tell you how many people would die of delight if there were waitlists at US libraries! My profession would be more appreciated for sure. The idea, though, that teens will read books to be "indie" or "alternative" grinds my teeth... read to be educated and interesting damn it!

I think you're right, e-books will eventually take over. Given that, I want to have the best possible product. I love the physical book-object. The article made a cool analogy that soon collecting books will be like collecting vinyl records.