A couple months ago in October I posted a blog that declared my concern for the future of books. I did not ever question whether or not future generations would still be reading words that were written by some of the most brilliant penmen to have ever lived, but I did question how they would be reading it. My fear was that future generations would no longer appreciate the physical form of a book, and would soon after, forget the smell of the fresh pages when they enter a bookstore and break the spine of a recent best seller.
I thought there would never be a day when I gave into the craze of this digital book era, but I am a bit reluctant to say that I think today may be that day. The more and more I consider the hard facts behind this mass media transition, the more and more I realize that it might be for the better.
Author's should not fear that they will be losing money, because the people who will be willing to spend $250-$300 on a nook or a Kindle, are the people that will still be willing to pay for their favorite author's work as soon as it is made available. The people that will be willing to spend this chunk of change for an electronic reader are certainly not people trying to save money on books. In fact, they are the people who love reading enough that they would, given the option, like to be able to carry all their books right in one device, that can fit inside their pocket.
According to a recent New York Times article:
"For every 100 copies of a physical book we sell, where we have the Kindle edition, we will sell 48 copies of the Kindle edition. It won't be too long before we're selling more electronic books than we are physical books."
Electronic devices, such as the nook or the Kindle, are a way to give people who love to read instant access to over 360,000 books. If author's insist that there be a hold or a waiting period for their book to be available on the nook, I am sure the reader can occupy themselves with one of the 360,000 other books available to them, that is just one "instant-purchase-click" away.
To be honest, at this point, I am not sure if there is any way around books going electronic. It just seems like the most sensible thing to do with our generation and the next. All we know and all we are going to get to know is, everything digital.
Author's need to realize that by resisting the nook and the kindle, the people that they are really starting to squabble with are the their fans that have supported them from copy to copy. Below is a sample of just what the future of books might be. For a step by step by step tutorial video, check out this other video that was uploaded on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezlLHKktf9I
I have read about and seen the Kindle, I like it, but in the end there is just something about a book that I enjoy. It seems easier on the eyes, I can write comments to myself in the margins... I'm sure you'll be able to do this all in the future, maybe able to do it now and I'm just not aware of it. There is something about the lineage and being able to pass down a book I think, it is a special market to me and I hope that these electronic means don't completely diminish this form of getting information.
ReplyDeleteWhile the convenience of the kindle is attractive, I so enjoy the bookstore experience and the actual connection with the book itself, that I don't see it as something I would use. However, I believe I probably at some point felt the same way about a cell phone, so time will tell.
ReplyDeleteThat video is great! Good idea to post that as well!
ReplyDelete