Are e-Readers Wiping out Paper Books For Good?

Kindle. Nook. iPad. These are all examples of what is called an e-reader. An e-reader is a portable electronic device that people use primarily for the purpose of reading digital periodicals and books. I was actually thinking of purchasing one myself since it is one of the most booming technology buzzes around. One can even turn his or her iPod Touch into an e-reader just by acquiring e-reader applications. As I was contemplating that, I came across a YouTube video titled “What e-Reader Means for Books”, since I am also of thinking of self-publishing my own urban fiction novel in the future. That is a project in the making.

The video itself is a clip from CBSnews.com and is a matter-of-fact discussion with journalist and author of “What Would Google Do?” Jeff Jarvis. It starts off with the gentlemen talking about the soaring sales of the Kindle e-reader from Amazon and whether or not paper books are heading to extinction. I did not realize that back in Christmas of 2009 that Amazon actually sold more electronic books than real physical books. I agree with Jeff that everything that can become digital, will become digital. You can store so much on these e-readers and they are portable and convenient; info comes to you right at the speed of light practically.

The publishing business has to be able to keep up with the changes of authors not needing a middleman much longer because the format of the book is changing. An author can just put his or her book on Kindle on their own time in a quick second, and really may not need the publisher or retail chain to get their books out to the public. I agree with the author that the decline in popularity that has been happening with newspapers will happen with physical books as well. However, I am enjoying the idea that once a digital book is published, an author can still go back and edit and correct things and that that book becomes searchable online, unlike the traditional solid book. I am praying that printed books will still be around in the next decade because there will never be anything close to the joy that comes with the pleasure of opening up a physical book, holding it in your hands and turning the pages as you get more and more into the story. 

Reference: http://youtu.be/6JzjN7MvbRo