Comments on: Why Books Will Survive http://www.chipdesignmag.com/blyler/2007/11/28/why-books-will-survive/ Just another engineering physicist turned editor Wed, 07 Jan 2009 23:24:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: John Blyler http://www.chipdesignmag.com/blyler/2007/11/28/why-books-will-survive/#comment-3572 John Blyler Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:50:22 +0000 http://www.chipdesignmag.com/blyler/?p=52#comment-3572 Below is an interest thought on the fate of all books from a website called, "The Lost Magazine" http://www.lostmag.com/index.php] -- JB THIRTY YEARS The Printed Book We could well lose the printed book. In perhaps 30 years. Except as a specialty item. Thereafter, we may well lose it entirely. Which does not (yet) mean the printed word, of course. But the glue-and-paper book, as opposed to the electronic book, is probably a goner. I expect, the pressure will be threefold: 1) increasing convenience/technological ease of the e-book, 2) business pragmatism with respect to print-on-demand or more targeted relationships with readers (so as to avoid massive returns, etc.), and 3) environmental pressure. The paper wasted in all those pulped overprinted books is indefensible. So: we would solve a lot of problems by eliminating the book. Other industries have pushed back against paper for some of these very reasons. But it would break my heart, and the hearts of many, many people (I assume) for the love of holding these things, the love of reading them, the love of treasuring them and going back to them. — Rick Moody Below is an interest thought on the fate of all books from a website called, “The Lost Magazine” http://www.lostmag.com/index.php — JB

THIRTY YEARS
The Printed Book

We could well lose the printed book. In perhaps 30 years. Except as a specialty item. Thereafter, we may well lose it entirely. Which does not (yet) mean the printed word, of course. But the glue-and-paper book, as opposed to the electronic book, is probably a goner. I expect, the pressure will be threefold: 1) increasing convenience/technological ease of the e-book, 2) business pragmatism with respect to print-on-demand or more targeted relationships with readers (so as to avoid massive returns, etc.), and 3) environmental pressure. The paper wasted in all those pulped overprinted books is indefensible.

So: we would solve a lot of problems by eliminating the book. Other industries have pushed back against paper for some of these very reasons. But it would break my heart, and the hearts of many, many people (I assume) for the love of holding these things, the love of reading them, the love of treasuring them and going back to them. — Rick Moody

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