Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Death of the Printed Page

I have to agree with this article that says that books are slowly dying out because of the E-reader.

Tipping points come faster now. Just three years after launching its Kindle e-book reader, Amazon sells more e-books than books in hardcover. The big-box stores are loading up on cheap e-readers, which they bet will be this season’s iPod. One expert, quoted in The New York Times, predicts that, within a decade, fewer than 25 per cent of all books sold will still be print on paper. So what if my beloved Blake is decomposing in a landfill? I can read him any time I want, virtually for free.

The only problem I have with the e-book is that you pay like $9 for a bunch of text though. The book has heft and actually feels like something that is worth $9. An e-book is just a 30 second download and then a few days of staring at a gray screen. I may eventually get an E-reader of some kind but I probably will miss buying a book or magazine at the Barnes & Nobles down the street.

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