Do you think that the ebook will take over the paper books?

[shelly blomker]

I heard from a few book sellers that have told me that the paper books won't be around in about 20 to 25 years from now. Do you think that will be true?

[Allie Smith]

id say doughtful because there arent a whole lot of people such as myself who want to go out and spend 200 dollars on and ebook or kindle plus have to buy all the books on top of it...i prefer waiting for my books come in the mail and looking through...most people buy paperbacks because they are cheaper which id say many bookstores or even amazon get alot of their sales off of them..id say hardcovers might be gone in the next 20-25 yrs because it takes alot more to make a hardcover version then a paperback one plus like myself i feel that u always have to be so careful when reading them.

[ManOfLaBook.com]

Soon you'll have free eReaders giving out (let's say with a purchase of 10 eBooks).

 

I do agree with you on the production of hardcovers (disclaimer, see my post below).

 

http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

[Jen Knox]

A lovely way to look at it. I would miss physical books so much. I have a Kindle but I only enjoy reading extremely short work on it. I like to give my thumbs a break from pressing buttons, after being on a computer all day, every day. :)

[Jeff Mariotte]

The bookstore that I'm a co-owner of, Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, is about to open its second location (in Redondo Beach, CA). Obviously we don't think print books are going anywhere.

 

Look at it this way--printed books have been around for a very long time. People thought movies would do away with them, then TV would do away with movies, then videogames would do away with everything. Yet, they're all still here. They're all just more ways for people to share stories and information and entertainment.

 

And printed books are the perfect marriage of form and function. You don't need a battery or a power source or internet connectivity. You can keep your place with a paper bookmark. You can take it anywhere.

 

If anything, e-books will likely cut into the sale of mass market paperbacks, because those are essentially disposable, cheap objects. Hardcovers are bought to be read and treasured, placed on bookshelves--they're objects apart from just what's in them. By the same token, e-books can't be displayed. Your friends don't come to your house and say, "Look at all your e-books." So mass market paperback sales will suffer, hardbacks might get a bit more expensive, but neither format will go away completely.

[Grace]

I hope they don't take away from mass-market paperbacks.  I prefer buying fiction in that format... It's cheaper, smaller, and easier to carry around during commutes.  I don't like spending tons of money on nice editions of books, because I read pretty fast and am a broke grad student.  Of course, if mass market paperbacks start to die out, I think a lot of us will start coming back to libraries!

__________________________

Books Without Any Pictures

[E. S. Lark]

I don't think we'll ever lose print books as there are some individuals (like myself) who don't own an ereader and who prefer the feel of a good paperback when compared to the lightweight readers currently. There may not be as many paperbacks and publishers may go the ebook route first to see if there's enough interest for a paperback, but paperbacks will always be around I think.

[Charlotte Garnatz]

Short Answer - Kind of.  ---  I think, as goes the music & movie industry so goes publishing.  I think that there will still be books published, but they will be more of a collectors item.  I think there will come a time in the future that the average person wanting to read a book will download it rather than go to the store & buy one.  Much like it is with music right now.

[Kelli Wheelwright]

People who like paper copies are not going to let go that easily. I think its doubtful that paper copies will disappear within 25 yrs. Still love my Kindle though :)

 

Kelli

http://www.ekfamilybooks.blogspot.com

[Clarinda]

I have so many paper copies of books that it's not funny. Sorry to say that I am selling my house and moving into a small apartment and have very little space. My son gave me a Kindle for Christmas and now I can have all the books I want. I love my Kindle, but I love paper books too. I am still going to buy paper books-even though in the end I will have to give them away because I will have no room to keep them-sad.

 

[ManOfLaBook.com]

I think that they will be around but the preferred method would be eBooks.

 

There is not only a cost factor in manufacturing but delivering as well (fuel isn't going down anytime soon). However, the deciding factor, much to the publishers' chagrin, is consumer demand.

 

I do see a collectibles market for paper books. For example you'd put out an eBook but an expansive, expensive, prestige format, signed, limited edition paper book.

 

http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

[Michelle Isenhoff]

I love books.  And I love ebooks.  I read and write both.  I think there's enough market for both to remain comfortable neighbors.

http://www.michelleisenhoff.wordpress.com

[chhavi sharma]

No doubt we are fast moving towards robotic lifestyles in the name of modernization and technological advancements, however, i feel the charm of reading from a paper book cannot be replaced by frosty feel of e-books..History of paper books can be dated by to 9th century, i feel they are here to stay..

http://book-reviews-chhavi.blogspot.com/