Will there be "book" stores 5 years from now?

[jerry limonta]

We've all seen the onslaught of ereading devices like the Kindle and Nook as well as the new line of recently launched tablet readers and I'm wondering if / when do you think paper will books will go the way of records, cds and other mediums replaced by new technology.

If you're not familiar with the 30 + ereading devices now available you can view them at http://www.ereaderuniverse.com

[Stacy-Deanne]

Christy I said the same thing you did about how some people can't afford computers and ereaders (on another book blog post about ereaders) but some folks didn't agree with me. They act like everyone can afford to keep up with technology and that's not fair. I mentioned that we still have to have ways for folks who cannot afford things to be able to have books to read. Some people didn't want to hear what I was explaining. I guess some folks really forget there are less fortunate people in the world. I'm glad you brought this point up again.

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[Jaime Huff]

There certainly is room for both mediums. I, for one, am not an ebook fan. I enjoy the experience of finding random books on an endcap at a bookstore.

[Moderate Mouse]

I'm with you on finding random books at a bookstore. That's kind of how I go about the reading project I'm doing. My first priority on buying books are to go to used bookstores, thrift stores, garage sales, etc. If I have no access to such places or if such places don't have any books, then I'd turn to traditional "first hand" stores where the books are new (whether said stores are actual bookstores or books are part of the stock). If buying books in person is out of the question, then I'd go to buying online. (The problem with that is I'd need a credit card which I don't have and probably won't anytime soon.) Unless I'm looking for a specific book and can't find it in person, if I want to buy any random book (new or used), I prefer to buy in person rather than turn to an online store to see if I can find it cheaper there or anything like that. But that's just me.

[jerry limonta]

I too appreciate a real book and always will.

Here are some staggering numbers though on the real cost savings of embracing ereading: http://www.ereaderuniverse.com/profiles/blogs/326315-reasons-to-emb...

[Christy]

But those numbers, blogged on an ereading site, are an overly simplistic breakdown. First, there is quite a bit of plastic in the device and the packaging. Trees are a renewable resource. Petrochemicals are not. An ereader also has more components than a traditional book. All those components use resources in their production also. And this isn't a "cost-savings" either. It still doesn't address that the majority of people in the world cannot afford to buy books. To avoid completely disenfranchising these individuals traditional books are the only option we have at the moment.

[Anastasia Fitzgerald-Beaumont]

I hope not. I'd rather not curl up in bed with my computer. :-)

[Emma Kinna]

There better be. There's nothing like holding a book in your hand, I don't care what anyone says. I'm all for technological advances, don't get me wrong! But getting rid of physical books? That would be a mistake.

[Nicola O.]

I don't know about bookstores per se. I hope I will always have that option. I do think that 5 years is too soon for the demise of printed books. eReaders are still something of an elitist option, and those of us who own the same album in wax, cassette, CD and MP3 will be wary of putting all our literary eggs in one virtual media basket.

I do think the grid will go down someday. I don't know if I'll live to see it, but I hope that physical books are still around on that day.

[Stacy Millican]

As a long-time reader, big-time fan of independent bookstores, and owner of one of those (shhh!) ereading devices, I can honestly say that I will always favor the smell, feel, taste, everything about a real, live book in my hands rather than the ease of what my ereader can give me. Now don't get me wrong, I love having it. Especially when I'm traveling....wow - 1000 books at my fingertips that fit into my purse that I can even take through security in the airport AND download books on the tarmac while waiting...and waiting..and waiting....BUT, get me home and it's to the shelf the ereader goes and out come the tomes of 1000 page books.

And for all of us booklovers, bibliophiles, and simpletons who just want to go into the local bookstore and browse for a couple of hours on a rainy afternoon....ahhh, nothing can replace that. No ereader can give me those hours where i can touch any book i want, read the back cover, read the last page or the first page, talk to fellow booklovers or the shopowner who loves books even more than I, oh no, there is not an ereader in the world that can give me the interaction a shopowner can.

So, my 2 cents worth is that the ereaders are convenient, wonderful, a handy tool, but in no way can they replace books or the bookstores.

[Stacy-Deanne]

I don't think Jerry is questiong whether books will be around, but the stores and how we buy them. I think and hope books will always be around. But none of us can tell the future. There are a lot of things people used for generations and thought they would be around then they were gone. I don't see physical books ever leaving completely. I think the big question is, HOW the physical books will be obtained. I believe that some bookstores we have now definitely won't be around in five years. Like Borders for one. But that doesn't mean new stores won't pop up. Look how Circuit City was the biggest thing now they are gone. Now Best Buy is the "it" thing for electronics. So I think it will be the same with books. The stores that are selling them now might not be around, but other bookstores might come along and be the new stores of the generation. I think Barnes and Noble might hold on but I can't even count how many Borders are closing. They've closed all their Waldenbooks so I think we can safely say Borders will not be around.

Whatever happens in the future, bookstores will have to accomodate all readers which means some way of having people be able to buy ebooks as well as physical books. The libraries are already doing this. The Houston Public library gives access to ebooks. You just use your library card, check into the site and you can download the book then and there as if you went to the library. Bookstores are gonna have to adapt to change and if they do that, they should be able to survive.

But once again, I think physical books will always be here. It's whether bookstores as we know them now will. We won't know until five years gets here.

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[Erik G]

Yes there will be! Printed books will stay on the same way the tv star did not kill for good the radio star.
Bookshops will survive buy giving something in plus: relaxing envirenments in the coffeehouse style where either hang out with your close friends or you just browse a book.

[Dave Rosenthal]

Like most other commenters, I think bookstores will be around much longer than five years, but the challenges they face won't lessen. To survive, they'll have to rely even more on author appearances and other events, and look for ways to distinguish themselves from the discounters and e-booksellers. A number of small shops have disappeared from the Baltimore area, but we still have a number of feisty independents, as well as stunning large stores such as the Inner harbor's Barnes & Noble, in a rehabbed power plant.