Will books disappear?

[Zen]

My English professor had a book exchange in his class, where we brought in our books to give to people and he personally chose a book for each of us that he'd thought we'd like. As he set down a box filled to the brim with paperbacks he said, "Your kids aren't even gonna know what a book looks like. Can you believe that?"

This and other variations of this sentence have been thrown at me, and probably you. I have to admit there's some convenience that comes with a Kindle or a Nook. If you're taking five books with you on a vacation, a Kindle spares up a decent amount of space in your carry on. But the downside is eReaders require electricity, while books rely on solar energy.

My question is, in your own personal opinion do you think books will stop being used by the general public? Do you think that the idea of a reading a physical leatherbound/paperback book will be viewed as 'uncool' in the future?

 

[Fluffy]

I agree with your professor. Books are going to become such old news that future adults won't know what they even are, or will at least not have any interest in them. I feel like we can't rely on the elderly either to preserve traditional books, because I know MANY old people who gave away their books (or trashed them) since they got them fancy tablet things. I know that people pirate buy digital books online for their computers, too.

It's totally understandable why people would prefer eBooks. It's a lit screen where you can choose from a list of books to read. It's also lightweight, easy to protect from the weather, and makes you look cool, I guess. They're so much more convenient than books. People like that.

Maybe I'll upgrade someday, but for now I still appreciate books. I get satisfaction from turning pages because with each chapter I finish, I feel like I've accomplished something. xD Also, collecting series is way more fun and awesome when you have shelves full of BOOKS.

EDIT: I just randomly thought of something: schools. Schools with eReaders are the rich, better schools and schools with books are the lame, poor schools. Assuming that books will be for total broke losers in the future. ;_;

 

[Mixavia]

No.

I think some people are going too crazy over that whole "Gosh, paperback books are going to be forgotten!" thing. I agree with everything that Fluffy said about eBooks, no surprise there. Still, if someone tells you that your child won't even know how a real book looks like.. I would probably laugh at them. Hard. Everytime I walk into a bookstore, I see people buying books way more often than eBooks. Why? For one, they are cheaper (at least in my country). Two, people are still used to traditional books, it won't change so quickly. And while eBooks and readers are generally used when working/studying, because it's really convenient, every person I know that owns a reader still puts it away at home and reads the "uncool" kind of books. This is sorta like watching a movie in the cinema and at home. Sure, you get it, but damn, that isn't the same at all (at least for some people).

Besides, if you're really worried that your kid may not feel the joy of reading paperback books, then keep them with you and shove it into his/her face later. Literary or not, it's your kid. But do that, and it will be fine. The only thing that may cause problems is that while being a parent, you want your kid to have the best things, and if his/her colleagues are running around with Kindles or whatnot, then you'll probably want to get him/her one, too. If one of the first presents the child gets is a Kindle, then don't expect him/her to appreciate anything else. With so much technology around nowadays, and probably an even bigger amount in the future, I imagine some things - here, like reading paperback books - have to be taught.

So, I strongly disagree with your professor. He seems a rather pessimistic fellow in that matter.

 

[Dirk Pitt]

We are a long way from eliminating paper as our main means of distributing the written word. As Vesper said it is still much cheaper to buy paper book, and there are just so many paper books still in circulation even if we where to complete stop the sale of paper books right this instant they would still be around for decades. I don't see the demise of paper an time soon, and its pretty easy to see based on the amount of paper consumed by even the wealthiest countries. Yep, paper is here to stay for now anyways.

 

[Zen]

I don't think books are going to disappear and this from both an emotional perspective and a business one. Books, whether they are paper back or hard cover are a lot cheaper than buying an eReader because I honestly don't want to spend $200, buy the digital book, download it, and then get to read it. It seems like such a long process. (I could be wrong, I don't own an eReader this is what I assume happens.) With books you either buy it at the store or online, and you get it. There's no charging the eReader or anything like that, you just need a light.

I also don't see the eReader as being cost effective for schools. It's true schools have computers, but they aren't top of the notch computers. Perhaps once more generations of eReaders get rolled out we might see them in schools, but right now it's definitely hard to see them used in schools. I am seeing them being used a lot more whenever I go out though, which could be a sign.

I dunno, I am still in love with books. I love their smell, whether they are old books or new ones. I love the idea of having a library in my home filled with books. There's something to having a whole shelf lined with your reading material versus a Kindle.

 

[MurderDeathKill]

But the downside is eReaders require electricity, while books rely on solar energy.

But what if the eReaders themselves run on solar power? Or get their electricity from green energy sources?

Books, like many things, will never go away entirely, but they'll eventually descend into irrelevancy and obsolescence, so Zen's professor saying kids in the future won't know what books look like is just saying hogwash.

Tomorrow's kids'll know what books look like, just take 'em to a museum.

 

[Saint Tribs]

I disagree completely with your professor. I hate ereaders. I don't like how the feel in my hands at all. I like going to the store to browse books and pick them up and heft them in my hands. I like the weight of a full novel. I like the way books smell.

People collect books. Since books were born people have collected them.

Books might die out in the future but I'm certain they won't in our life time. Or I'm going to be very very sad.

 

[DragonChaos]

Books disappear? Hope not cause it'll be a sad day and every library and such will disappear. As for your professor choosing your books you may like, sorry to say but that was foolish of him.

 

[Torsty]

Is it okay to read on an ereader outside in the sun for longer periods? I prefer sitting outside when I read books.

 

[October Knight]

Books are as useless and outdated as the newspaper.

 

[Cry]

Books are as useless and outdated as the newspaper.

shhhhhhhhhhhhhh your going to hurt my books feelings and books are not useless let take dictanrys as an exp ok on the internet you look up your word you find it ok but if you use a dicanary you find words you never heard of ad thenyou canus thatword when ever you want

 

[Cammeh]

While I'm all about the technology, and the convenience of transporting several books via tablet or ereader, I have to say that I do not enjoy reading on my ipad or even my laptop. I get screen fatigue when I'm doing something that requires constant eye focus on the screen. I much prefer when things are moving and I can look up and down and around without missing anything. I prefer the feel of a physical book as well; the weight of it, and the feel of the pages. I know a lot of tech-savvy people who feel the same way. It's much easier to unplug from technology if you don't also need technology to accomplish things you could do without it.

That being said, while I don't think that books themselves will disappear, I believe that the way books are transferred will. With people much more mobile and even more transient than they were previously, and with books being printed and released faster than they have ever been before, many people have begun utilising public libraries in ways and in frequency that they hadn't before, and libraries are changing to match this new trend. Now, some libraries are even being renovated and re-organised to resemble bookstores, with books laid out on tables and circular shelving, rather than the archaic stacks. They are beginning to look more like bookstores than libraries; at least parts of them. I think this is the new way of books.

 

[Sakura]

There's an irresistible feeling in holding a book in your hands and turning the pages. I don't think my tablet could ever replace that. I'm a tech-student, but I only use my tablet for textbooks (in which case ebooks are much much cheaper than the actual text). The campus library's fiction section is still my solace.

 

[Sakura]

Is it okay to read on an ereader outside in the sun for longer periods? I prefer sitting outside when I read books.

yep! They've made some eReaders with screens that have anti-glare protection so you'll be able to read outside without straining your eyes and/or overheating the device :)

 

[Kooriryu]

"Lignin, the stuff that prevents all trees from from adopting the weeping habit, is a polymer made up of units that are closely related to Vanillin. When made into paper and stored for years, it breaks down and smells good. Which is how divine providence has arranged for secondhand bookstores to smell like good quality vanilla absolute, subliminally stocking a hunger for knowledge in us all."

- Luca Turrin

 

[Mid]

I would hope not. I mean, eReaders are great because it means less trees turning into books but books are great because there's nothing like the feel of one in your hands. The smell, the feeling of excitement with each turn of the page. I mean, I want a Kindle, yeah...but it's kind of weird just scrolling down or swiping to the next page. To me at least. <_<

 

[CSSR]

Books will not disappear completely as long as English is compulsory in schools.

 

[Ms.Wrong]

Books are being replaced by computers everywhere nowadys

• In Schools
• Librarys
• Work
• Homes

And by the time they finalize this switch in the future, kids wont have to deal with heavy bookbags, workers wont have anymore paper filing, and the libraries will be nothing but a internet cafes with free computers to use.
But even when all this happens and the manufacturing of books stop...
It doesnt mean that books will disappear in total. We have the past books, and as long as we dont treat them as crap or burn them all in book burnings nothing should be disappearing.
Its only a transition of recording information.... you dont see use still using
Walls, stone slabs, scrolls, furniture, and other things do you?
But there is still proof of those records, right? Not disappeared.
So even when technology takes over books and books are no longer used or made.
THEY WILL STILL BE HERE!

 

[Ochalla]

What's so foolish about choosing books for your students at the end of a session? It seems like an endearing sort of gesture and shows an interest in the wellfare of the students and not just collecting a paycheck.

Also why am I recalling some sci fi show joking about how despite the advent of computers there's more paperwork (physical papers) then ever before?

But more importantly this article.

 

[Summer Rain]

If this does happen, I think it will a very, very long time from now.

Working at a bookstore for the last four years, I've seen the decline in purchases for regular, bound novels. We will soon be getting an "iStore" that sells iPads and over various ereaders. However, I certainly would not say that books are "disappearing". A lot of the customers I talk to hate the idea of replacing their books with a computer device... there is something unique and comforting about a real novel in front of you. Even I have started to read off my Kobo ereader, and really do love it. However, nothing beats a real book to read in the bath tub or on the beach!
I certainly think that computers are soon going to replace larger books, like textbooks. However, I don't think that books will just "disappear". People love reading their novels, and stowing them away on their bookshelves, rather than in a tiny computer chip.

In the end, though, I don't really feel like it's a big deal if physical books disappear. I mean, people will still be reading, just in a different way. If we never advanced and enjoyed new technology, we'd still be printing books on type writings or even worse, carving them into stone tablets (lol, I exaggerate). It's not like the disappearance of paper bound novels is going to cause reading itself to disappear... we will just be doing it in a different, more advanced (and ecofriendly) way.