The future of publishing is in e-books, at least that’s what
I keep reading. However, my professors in editing and publishing hesitate to
make that same claim. And, after doing a bit of research, I can see why. Yes,
publishing electronic content has become very huge; people can download this
content onto their smartphones or tablets and take it with them anywhere.
Most of the users who read e-books will still buy physical
copies of books as well. I, too, am one of those people. I have a Kindle Fire,
and I love that I can purchase books without needing to go to a bookstore,
which is great because the nearest Barnes and Noble is thirty minutes away from
my house. That being said, I don’t buy a lot of books on my Kindle. I get the
public domain books because they are free, and I will occasionally buy a
bargain book when the price is right. However, when it comes to a book that I
know I will want to read again or lend to friends or family members, I will buy
the printed book. I know some people that will only buy the physical copies of
books. And, despite the convenience of e-books, they will never consider letting
go of their physical books or trying a device such as an e-reader.
This article from the Wallstreet
Journal reported at the beginning of the year that brought up a good point:
e-books are just another format. They serve a different purpose from the
physical copies of books. So, just because there is a large, growing market for
e-books, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the market for printed books will
shrink and disappear for good.
I think you're right that books are by no means obsolete in the digital world, but at the same time, I think time will change the way that we look at literacy in general. I think right now, we're held back from really embracing e-books because they are still so new and don't have all the bugs (or positive features) fully worked out, but I'll be interested in what the future holds.
ReplyDeleteWhen I took Dr. Burton's Shakespeare class I seem to recall him saying at the start of term, "The writing is on the wall and it's in pixels." But I totally agree with you. I save a bundle on buying public domain books for classes, but if I can't get it free/super cheap on kindle then I'll buy a paper copy.
ReplyDeleteI agree that most avid book readers still favor traditional paper books. However, it's a lot less expensive to publish electronically. I know a lot of people who were attached to VHSs too, but eventually made the switch to DVDs as VHSs are no longer available for new movies. We might all be pushed into electronic books if paper books fail to sell and only electronic new books are available.
ReplyDeleteIt's also true that bigger books = bigger printing costs. Same goes for pictures. Pictures, especially in color, are more expensive to print. I'm curious to see if this changes for books produced electronically. Are we more willing to go for longer books? More pictures?
I've wondered about the future of printing as well. I think we'll have to wait and see, especially once the younger generations get older. It's true that many of them will grow up readying physical copies of books, but they will also grow up reading more online text. I do think there is a special something about having a paper book that I can turn the pages of and look where my bookmark is and see the progress I've made, but this may not be important to younger generations. And as Heidi said, money really is a huge underlying factor.
ReplyDeleteThe future of reading (conceptually) will certainly relate directly to the future of reading (in terms of physical / electronic / hardware interfaces). A good topic to keep pursuing. What are the affordances of electronic books beyond low cost? How about the degree to which eBooks become integrated with social media?
ReplyDelete