Are Books Disappearing?

[sacha_arrak]

Books will never disappear. Authors have to invest a lot of time into writing a book, and a lot of money. The amount of money taken off of printing books will be that much less that an author has to invest into publishing the book. I believe authors will actually increase, along with their profits.

[DATo]

When I was a kid I had a shoebox full of old baseball cards. For non-Americans I will explain that these were small pieces of thin cardboard which had the picture of professional baseball players on the front and their professional statistics on the reverse side. Perhaps you have the same for "football" players in your country. They were a penny each or five-to-a-pack for a nickel. Each pack came with a flat piece of bubble gum. I had some of the most famous baseball players of all time in my collection ... no big deal ... they were easy to get. When I got a bit older, perhaps in my mid teens, I gave all of my toys to my nephews and nieces; after all, what the hell was I going to do with them? Bear with me, I'll get to the point in a moment. When I was in my 30's a news article on the radio mentioned that a family which had purchased an old house found, literally, a shoebox full of baseball cards which had by now become collector's items, in the attic. They mentioned the players on the cards which were found. This was the exact same era of the cards I had when I was a kid. The value of the shoebox full of cards which was found was placed by expert estimators at $35,000. Can you imagine the look on my face when I heard that? All of the cards I had given away had been lost or destroyed by this time by the ungrateful wretches spawned by my brothers and sister.

The same thing goes for Mickey Mouse paraphernalia and even old and discontinued beer cans. Thank you for your patience. Now here's the point: I have found that "collectables" are usually things we find all around us and are very common to the population. They are in such abundance for that matter that no one imagines that they will ever be valuable.

I am now collecting old, classic books from anywhere I can find them. If the book is well known I want it because I believe - truly believe - that printed books will someday be collector's items. You will find that in time publishers will become more and more reluctant to print books as use of electronic media becomes more widespread and existing books will begin to disappear through natural attrition. The consequence is that they will not be replaced just as the collectables I mentioned above were not, and even if a few are, to some extent, the older ones will be far more highly prized. Ridiculous you say? Remember, you heard it here first.

[Ramona]

I don't think hard copy books will be a thing of the past just because we have the option of e-books. As others have said, I love having a "real" book in my hand. But there are times when an e-book fits the bill nicely. We are "snow-birds" and we have a sizeable library in both homes, but there are still many books that I want with me wherever I am. Packing them up to travel back and forth would be not just too much work, in addition to all the other preparations for travel, but it would also not be economical for space and weight in the car! The car is already usually filled to the gillls with just enough room for two people to fit into it for the trip! Boxes of books just would not work. Also because of the number of books we do have in each home, if I were to add a number of my e-books into those homes as paper books, there might not be room enough for people in the house!! Well, that's a slight exaggeration, BUT... in reality we would have to clear more walls for book shelves and we've already added some book shelves in both places. There is not a lot of space left! We do love books!!!

[Kaelahhill]

I hope they arent! E books just do not give the reader the same feeling.

[krood10]

I don't think paper books will disappear. There will always be a market and a demand for them. I do think they will decrease in popularity with the rise of technology. However, in a way, the various forms of tech are a good thing. Many of my friends have discovered that you can borrow audio books from our library on their smartphones and have commented that they are now "reading" more books. I don't think books are disappearing, they are evolving.

[Line Elise]

I definitely agree that print books are on the downhill, which disappoints me. Who remembers Borders? My experience there was that my Dad often took me there as a child, and every time we would pick up new books and eat Lindt truffles on the way out, as they sold them at the checkout. In a way that became a "thing" of ours, and when Borders closed, so did a tradition including books. That's just my silly personal experience, but I feel like I share a lot of the same feelings as other readers may have. Yes, e-books are cheaper, but there's just something about holding the words in your hands, rather than them being beamed down to you. Something about the smell of the paper. Something about the traditions of reading. Snd for that reason I think some amount of printed books will never fade. Because many readers care.

[davidlog]

I don't think that printed books will disappear because they have their taste on reading!
personally I hate reading using my laptop or my tablet or my phone
Usually I buy printed books or I print the E-book!
anyway anyone have its own reading style
thank you

[Black Kats Cradle]

There is nothing that can replace the tactile sensation or smell of a good book. I do not see books, libraries, or bookstores in any danger anytime soon.

[Cher+Pot]

When this question comes up, I always like to remind myself that escalators and lifts didn't cause stairs' extinction. In just the same way, e-readers will never replace paperbacks. People will always love the smell of a book and a personal library in paperback does seem like more of an achievement than thousands of books on one, single e-reader.

[robby12345uk]

Sadly I think books will largely disappear although I am sure that some will remain. In my area bookshop after bookshop is closing unfortunately.

[MaryLisboa]

I don't think paper books will disappear. Doesn't matter the technology they come up with, paper books are loved for too many people to disappear, they are beautiful, they still are amazing gifts and there is nothing alike them.

[gerri51]

I don't think real books are disappearing any time soon. I think there are still enough of us bibliophiles that are passionate about reading and collecting books that we'll do everything we can to keep the printed copies around. Even my kids that have been raised in this age of technology prefer printed books. My daughter has an e-reader that she uses when she travels or maybe has an appointment where she is going to be sitting around waiting. It is lighter and easier to carry than some books. However, she and I both love nothing better than to curl up with a good book and a glass of wine (or in the winter a mug of hot cocoa for me). I also love the smell of that new book, nothing like it. And as far as the cost of books, you can get new books at a substantially reduced price when you have the membership cards at many book stores.

[literaturelover]

hmm, pretty deep thoughts. I dunno about the world as a whole, but I have a 50/50 ratio of 'real books' and e-books. I usually start by getting an e-copy of a new book, esp if the author is indie. If I enjoy it then I buy that same book for my home library (you know in case of the zombie apocolypse, i'll have something to read).

As for authors writing less i don't know. I write for fun and am not planning on trying to get published any time soon. I think it might weed out the author's in it for the money and maybe a crop of writers who genuinely love to write may spring up. This is just my opinion and I am certainly not an expert on the subject. No attacks please

[Scott]

Let's take a moment to appreciate that this topic of over 200 posts was started 6 years ago. The changes being discussed are actually occurring throughout the discussion. What an interesting discussion to follow!

[ChantelSeabrook]

NEVER!!! I read a lot on my computer, but there is nothing like the feel of a real book in your hands.