Finally, a tech article that says books aren’t dead or dying. The author suggests that tech pundits want books to die. This is a generalized statement and rather inflammatory. While he provides the example of a couple of tech pundits who do indeed want the book to die, that does not translate to all. And reading such a statement makes me ask, why? Why do tech pundits want the book to die? What difference does it make to them? That would be an interesting article in this whole books are dying/dead/only a little dead/not dead yet back and forth ping-pong match.
The people making the death of books predictions, what do they have against books? Why are they so eager to see them disappear? Do they hate books that much? Or, do they have some sort of vested interest in the death of books? Are the ones making the predictions owners of ebook technology and so, by making their predictions, think they will somehow hasten the end of paper? If that is what they are thinking they haven’t spent much time away from their computers talking to people who actually read books.
The author of the article suggests that the ebook market will hit a plateau as the early adopter market gets saturated and might even take a dive should there be a backlash against ebooks by those who don’t love tech for the sake of tech. I’m not sure about a backlash, but I can certainly conceive of there being an ebook market plateau. Where that plateau will be in terms of market share I haven’t the foggiest. I do know that as a Kindle owner for a year and half now, I have not bought a single ebook nor do I have plans of buying any ebooks in the future. All the books on my Kindle are free public domain books. I doubt I am the only ereader owner who has not bought an ebook.
Far from disappearing, I think paper books will be around for a very long time. I even think they will continue to have the majority market share. Readers will buy ebook readers and ebooks for vacations or business travel, or, if they are like my sister, because they live in a small apartment and have no room for a lot of books, and eventually perhaps students will have e-textbooks, but I don’t think the paper book is on its way out.
I love the article’s conclusion:
Books have a kind of usability that, for most people, isn’t about to be trumped by bourgeoisie concerns about portability: They are the only auto-playing, backwards-compatible to the dawn of the English language, entirely self-contained medium we have left.
It is so true. Plus, you don’t have to worry about a book you bought in 1980 no longer being readable in 2010 or 2020 or 2050. Now think about all that stuff you saved onto a floppy disk back in the day. I suspect today’s ebook formats are tomorrow’s floppy disks. I’m not willing to put my entire library on my Kindle today and not be able to read any of it in 10 years. Long live paper books!
The collection of books is a form of madness. I have several thousand and – despite my wife’s efforts to establish a reasonable arrangement – I’m often able to lose books, buy the same book twice, or indulge in other follies. With age and failing eyesight I find my reader a valuable hold on the printed page. But I have never bought an ebook for my reader. And I find texts that I have looked for all my life available free for nothing more than the time it takes me to download. I see now that both the ebook and the traditional book have their uses and I don’t think the first will ever replace the second.
I’ll be more pleased with the ebook when it is black on white and not the ugly grayscale that it is now.
I too think they’ll hit a plateau. They’re basically a niche product. I enjoy mine, I’m glad I have it, but I keep right on buying books just as if I didn’t have it.
I guess tech pundits seem to want books to die because it would be “proof” that technology is supreme, and some of that supremacy would obviously rub off on them since they are a part of it. Everyone wants to be on the winning side, right? But as others have pointed out, new media don’t replace the old media, and so we still have radio and drama along with TV and movies. Each has its niche and market. The article makes a good point that ebooks today are designed to get maximum profit for minimum product. Ebooks are essentially rentals, which is fine for some uses, but I think if people thought of them that way they would realize they were getting ripped off. Kids who have reacted to overpriced music downloads by pirating may be wiser than readers in this regard!
This post makes me happy. I love my books and don’t think I’ll ever feel the same way about an e-reader. And you’re so right- I have forgotten entirely what was on all those old floppies gathering dust, but way back when it seemed so important- whereas the books of paper? their words are always there for me and thus never forgettable. I can always read them again.
Woo-hoo!! Long live paper books is right
) Thanks for the article. It will be a sad day if paper books ever went away.
I 100% agree with you.. is nothing like the feeling of touching a book, old fashion way!… It is true e readers enjoy cuantity at the touch of their hands, but the feeling is way different!
I have to agree with several comments here, although I am a self defined geek or “techie” and don’t even own a kindle yet. I read constantly and can see the appeal of tucking something small into my purse, but I also can’t imagine crawling into bed with the same computer I sit at all day.
Honestly, it’s very rare that technology has completely destroyed anything – instead it tends to enhance and change.
Bob, but book collecting is a “gentle madness”
Being able to find old books I’ve been looking for is one of the good things about having an ereader. All those old, obscure texts that no one wants to print are available online which is great. I agree with you about the black on gray. It would be nice if there could be a creamier background.
Susan, exactly! I’m glad I have my Kindle too but it hasn’t stopped me from buying ever more paper books.
Sylvia, good point about the tech pundits. They do tend to be the sort who believe technology makes everything better and solves all problems. And when new and old media rub shoulders interesting things can happen like the use of QR codes in some books. It’s the rental aspects of ebooks that really gets me right now. Something has to change with that like it has with music.
Jeane, I get tired of hearing all the time about how the paper book is dead so this was a nice article to come across especially since the author had actual numbers and an argument other than he loved paper books.
Book Worm, glad you enjoyed the article!
Monica, I think there is a time and place for everything and ereaders are definitely useful devices but they don’t spell the end of paper. I’m still waiting for the paperless office prediction to actually come true!
Mary-Frances, you are quite right, technology rarely destroys anything and crawling into bed with a Kindle is not the same as a book. Ereaders and ebooks are handy for some things and in some situations but they are not a replacement for paper.
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I tend to be very picky about what gets moved from my TBR shelf to the keep shelf. I have to really love a book to keep it because I have limited space in my studio and only one set of shelves. This doesn’t keep me from buying books though. The upshot is that I wind up giving away most of what I buy (waste of money I know, but my library isn’t very good). The Kindle will make it easier to delete books instead of lugging them to the nearest book drop or book store. The ones I read and love, I will then go buy in the store to add to my keep shelf. I know I can’t be the only one doing this, so I don’t think paper books are going anywhere.
I’m confident you’re familiar with Nicholson Baker’s Double Fold; if not, it’s very enlightening as to the motives of those who privilege new technologies like e-readers over the perfectly useful print editions of our literature. If I remember correctly, he points out that, at least in one case, those who promote those technologies stand to profit from their adoption at libraries and other such places. I don’t imagine most Kindle enthusiasts own stock in Amazon, but it’s a lovely and informative book.
Two things:
[1] At B&N part of my pitch, such as it is, is that e-readers give me a choice. Is that hardcover book I’m eyeballing worth the extra price and a home on my shelf? Am I going to want to cart that series of paperbacks with me for the rest of my life on the off-chance I may want to read it again, or will I be content simply archiving it on a server or memory chip? Sometimes I want the physical item, sometimes not. And remember, NOOKS are compatible with your local libraries.
[2] T’aint the file type, but the delivery system. Information you saved on your old floppy (even back when floppies were still actually floppy) could be read today, if you could find a drive for it. Wireless technology kind of negates that issue.
At some point everything will be live-streamed.
Possibly even our physical books. Read Dan Simmons’s “Iliad” and “Olympus” sci-fi duet for some O-so-tasty musing on the potential future for books and reading.
Or just read it for fun. It’s a love letter to literature, after all.
And that’s awful lot of alliteration for a lazy lunk like me.
Agreed! I was thinking about this the other night as I looked through my collection of old children’s books (which definitely don’t translate well to digital). I don’t think they are going anywhere. Magazines, maybe…
Long live paper books indeed! And what a nice, sensible article about e-books. I have, for some time now, predicted that e-books will not replace print books but will merely live side-by-side with them (not nearly as attractively, I might add) as one way of conveying the written word but not the only way.
I love my Kindle for travel but can’t live without my paper books. I think the two mediums will co-exist for many years to come.
The plateau argument makes sense to me, and I totally agree with the argument about current eBook technology becoming obsolete. Why by something that won’t last, when you can get the same thing in a format that WILL last? I can see why ereaders are useful, but they aren’t perfect for all circumstances.
I really agree with you & other commenters on the rental aspect of ebooks – that does not fly with me. If I buy something I want to own it, which means ability to lend, re-sell, throw into the river, whatever! (Not that I go around throwing books into the river, but you know.)
People are so funny with their all-or-nothing prognostications. I think they just like making Bold Statements About The Future, because it seems somehow impressive.
Yup, it’s the terms this debate is being conducted in that really get to me. Nothing needs to die, or be annihilated or obliterated or smushed out of existence. All that vocabulary comes from the bad sensationalist tendency that dominates the media. The thinking is we are more likely to read an article that says ‘The paper book soon to die!’ than one that says ‘E=books a useful addition to the new media’. Gah! Drives me nuts! Because it leads people on to think in those terms and thus make it a reality.
But you are too smart for that, Stefanie! And good for you.
My husband is one that thinks paper books will die. I’ll try to explain his take. Note that he doesn’t have an ereader as such. He has a handheld phone device that he reads things on. He buys books, scans them, OCRs them to a digital format (I think just a txt file) and reads them on his handheld. Because he has it in a non proprietary format he can read it for years to come (supposedly). He seriously believes this is much more convenient than carrying around a book, and he believes that the day will come when everyone finds it more convenient to have a digital book. He thinks our toddler when a teenager will first look for an ebook before looking for a hard copy book.
Now, I don’t mind reading books on my handheld (I also only use public domain books on ereaders; I read other books in the physical copies). But I love to own pretty books and favorite books, so I’m the opposite of him. I don’t think hard copies are going anywhere ever. But definitely ereaders are going to continue to be around and increase in comfort level over the years.
Erin, so it sound like you use your Kindle, in part, to screen books that you want to own in paper on your limited shelf space? Very interesting. My sister has limited space too and has almost stopped buying paper books in favor of Kindle books.
robert, oh yes, I have Double Fold on my bookshelf but have not gone beyond skimming though I have read portions of the book Baker published as essays in other venues. Thank you for reminding me about it, I really should pull it down and give it a cover to cover read!
Cameron, there you go, you evil salesperson you
Good point about the hardware being at issue, and it is the issue in the majority of cases, but there are file formats that have also become obsolete. If I could use those old floppies I wouldn’t be able to read the files because they are all in WordPerfect. Too bad Word won that war, I loved WP. I have both those Simmons books on my shelf and will make an effort to finally get around to reading them, promise!
Daphne, children’s books are ideal on paper. You don’t want your toddler drooling all over your iPad! Magazines though, I totally agree with you. Now if they can only get the formating right on the Kindle…
Emily B, isn’t it nice to have a sensible article for a change? And I agree digital and paper books can and will live side-by-side in perfect harmony like ebony and ivory
Kathleen, I am in total agreement with you!
Dorothy, you know the saying every book its reader? Perhaps we should also say every book the proper format to fit the need. Or something like that.
Emily, I am glad to know you don’t actually throw books into the river!
I thnk you are right about people liking to make bold statements, it is provocative and gets folks riled up and some people think that’s fun.
Litlove, ha! You give me too much credit
I agree with the sensational aspect of the whole “debate.” I also wonder what it says about how tech people view readers and whether they think that somehow they are finally going to get to stick it to those smarty-pants bookworms.
Rebecca, aw, but your husband still buys the physical book, he doesn’t purchase an ebook, and because he does buy the physcial book he actually owns the digital copy. What will he do if paper books die and all he can buy is an ebook with proprietary DRM on it? he can get around digital copyright issues now, but how does he feel about the future?
I don’t think he believes DRM is going to stay as it is for the long-term. That will have to change. I honestly have no idea. As long as I can still get physical books when I want them…
It seems like readers who like the convenience of eReaders also like their paper as well. I’ve always thought it shouldn’t be a matter of ‘either or’ when we can have both. I can’t imagine a time when I wouldn’t want to have a book in hand, and I don’t imagine them disappearing anytime soon!
Wonderful post. I don’t own an e-reader – I’m not adverse to them and may even get one someday. I’m one for ‘real’ books though and I don’t think that will ever change.
I think Colleen at ChasinRay said it best when she reminded us that books aren’t going to die out because so many people simply can’t afford the new technology and the forced upgrades relying on technology usually brings. I know there are plenty of free ebooks, but where are the free ereaders? This is especially true when you look at school reading – there are so many schools unable to afford computers, let alone e-readers. And what about poorer regions than the US and UK? We should all be championing the paper book, because if the physical book does die then reading returns to being a priviledge for an elite group just as it was before moveable type and mass literacy (although the elite would probably be a larger group of people, many would still be excluded).
Oh and I think tech pundits who shout about the end of books are in someway financially involved with ereading technology, but then I’m cycnical (way too cynical for somone working in a tech environment).
Danielle, I think you have got it exactly right!
Heather, thanks! No reason to change at all.
Jodie, good point about the cost of technology being prohibitive for so many. Even if you can borrow and ebook from a library you still need to have the device to read it on. And I agree, I think the loudest book doomsayers have a financial stake in it.
Stefanie, I’m debating buying myself a 3rd generation Kindle, now that the price has gone below $200. Still too high in my opinion, but it is a well-designed device and reading on it in the local Best Buy was very easy and unobtrusive. As someone who has never used a dedicated e-reader, I had some questions, and knew exactly who to ask
.
I, too, am thinking of using the Kindle mostly for reading old, free books. In your experience, are there a lot of scientific non-fiction books available for free? I have another question: Nowadays, I have to travel far too often, and have to do a lot of reading and reviewing on the move. Do you think that it is a good device for reading technical papers? I’m referring to PDFs that are often in two-column format and contain mathematical notation.
Polaris, As I am not much of a scientific nonfiction reader I can’t really answer that question. Books that are free are oftentimes in the public domain so they won’t be new science books. Some of the best places to check for Kindle are Project Gutenberg, manybooks.net, Google books, and Internet Archive. Hathi Trust also has free books that in the public domain mixed in with in-copyright books. I’ve not done much PDF reading on the Kindle but what I have read looks and reads fine, you just have to change the orientation from portrait to landscape otherwise I find it doesn’t work very well. I have not tried two-column or mathematical notations. I would think there wouldn’t be a problem with the notations, the two-columns make me wonder though because while PDFs read fine, Kindle can be fussy about them. I have a Kindle2 though so the new one might be better. All that said I do find reading on the Kindle is easy and comfortable. The only thing I don’t like is that it doesn’t read EPub format which means I can’t borrow ebooks from my library. Hopefully one day Amazon will get over their proprietary format issues and update the software for EPub reading.