Just a reminder: this month we're giving away Patti Hill's fun new novel, Seeing Things. Leave a comment on one of our discussions for a chance to win.~
How has the emergence of e-books changed the way you read? Michael Miller, Executive Publisher at NavPress, which published my last two novels, wrote on his blog the road ahead . . . , "Consumers are moving away from retail stores and to virtual retailers ... The e-book and e-reader world ... will have an impact." Undoubtedly that's true, but how much of an impact? A recent NexGen Research study predicts that the global market for e-readers such as the Kindle and Sony Reader will exceed $2.5 billion by 2013. On the other hand, Steve Jobs discounts the potential of the e-book market because, he says, "People don't read anymore." Ouch. I can't begin to fathom that. My husband and I are voracious readers, as are our children.
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So, if NexGen Research is correct that the e-reader market will turn into a multi-billion dollar industry in a very short time, I can't help wonder, will it be a generational thing, where younger generations embrace the e-reader phenomenon, while the aging Boomer generation by and large clings to the familiar book format? Or will there be a blending of the two? Can a die-hard book lover be wooed into the world of the e-reader? Will a generation deeply submerged in the technology age eventually find traditional books obsolete?
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My book club discussed the subject this past week, and to a woman, everyone agreed they would not trade a "real" book for an electronic one. Granted, most of us fall into that aging Boomer category, but the two 30-somethings in our group were as adamant as the rest of us. We all love the smell of paper and ink as we crack open that first page, and the feel of a "real" book in our hands.
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And yet, as unappealing as the e-reader concept is to me as an exclusive way to read, I can see its merits in selected situations. Travel, of course, tops the list. How convenient to load a book or two onto a Kindle and save space in your suitcase for an extra pair of shoes. Textbooks are a close second on my list of the merits of an e-reader. I'm sure every middle and high school student on the planet would gladly trade a backpack full of books for one small reading device. Not to mention the savings college students could realize every semester if they could purchase textbooks for e-readers at a remarkably reduced rate. If you ask me, buying college textbooks is much like buying concessions at a movie theater or ballpark -- as close as you can get to legal extortion.
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Alright then, I'm curious. Can you see a world where books and ebooks find compatibility, or will traditional books eventually go the way of the vinyl record and 8-track cassette? And, of course, the looming question on the minds of writers everywhere is, "What will that mean for me?"
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I'd love to hear what you think.
