Are Ebooks Taking Over the Paperback?

Are ebooks taking over the paperback? Are we destined to be a paperless society? If Amazon's Kindle, AppleÂ’s iPad, and SonyÂ’s Reader have anything to do with the future, the answer is an astounding yes!

Today January 21, Sony released an Android reading app for downloading and reading ebooks from SonyÂ’s store. If you have an Android 2.2 or higher youÂ’re in for another option to access ebooks.

Today, we have access to building a huge personal library with a storage space about the size of one paperback book. But how do we manage our vast elibrary? Koobits offers an ebookshelf. You can drag your books from one shelf to another, create folders, tag, and highlight favorite pages.

But what is the consensus from the end user? How many people really enjoy reading books on an electronic devise?

AmazonÂ’s selling records show that for each 100 paperbacks sold, 143 ebooks are sold. However, independent polls revel the paperback still rules with a 3:1 favor. Random House offered up their own poll, and it showed that 82% of people prefer paperbackÂ’s to ebooks.

In the end, it really depends on the individual. However, with a mobile society, ebooks may become more popular over time. As for now, the paperback book is still king!

Comments: 12

Lisa Westerfield Jan 21, 2011, 7:17pm UTC

I'm fine with e-books, but I don't think they will ever replace the feeling a book in my hands. Electronic technology breaks down, a book, if cared for properly, can last centuries. I know, I have one from 1715.

Diana Raabe Jan 26, 2011, 11:34am UTC

Touche! I can't imagine ever giving up cloth books.. Authors can't sign e-books!

Lisa Westerfield Jan 26, 2011, 3:20pm UTC

Diana, the fact that for years people collected albums with the assumption that they would always have the music with them until the music industry decided they would force the marketplace to change to DVDs. Now people download music. The thing about books is that they never change. You lose a book you lost a book. You lose an e-reader thingy and you lose thousands of books (maybe). A book never has to be charged for batteries. You can read books in tubs. I guess I don't want to be forced into an e-reader...I really don't.

Sue Richter Jan 26, 2011, 3:29pm UTC

Oh excellent point about reading in or around water. In the bathtub or in the hot tub... a paperback is better. If you drop your iPad or Kindle you're up a creek (so to speak). I do love choices though...so perhaps there is room for both.

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Sue Richter Jan 21, 2011, 7:25pm UTC

Nice, a 1715 edition. It's classic, timeless. I love to hold a book too. After being on a computer most the day, the last thing I want to do is read online/electronically.

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Margarita DeLashmit Jan 21, 2011, 9:11pm UTC

I love the feel of a paperback or hardcover book, however I do own a nook and I LOVE it! I really have so many books that take up so much space! I have only owned the nook since Christmas but already have 20+ books downloaded. I don't know that I will purchase anymore paperback books. I may barrow them from the library, but as someone who doesn't have a lot of space for storage, the nook is my new best friend!

Diana Raabe Jan 26, 2011, 11:35am UTC

Do you find you read faster or slower on your nook? I actually read much faster - and much more - on an electronic reader, but read a report somewhere that claimed people read more slowly on an electronic reader.

Margarita DeLashmit Jan 26, 2011, 8:27pm UTC

I find that I read faster...and I'm less tempted to skip to the end of the book! :) The only drawback that I have found is that I can go into a used bookstore and find great deals on many books, even new(er) titles. With the nook deals are few and far between. I am hoping that someone will come up with a good program to "borrow" books, kind of like an electronic library. How great would it be to have an entire library at your fingertips!? With all the technological advances, I'm sure someone will think of it eventually if it's not already in the works!

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Sue Richter Jan 26, 2011, 10:26am UTC

I'm seeing a lot of people purchasing paperbacks and then passing them on. I guess it's a little greener, but does it hurt the publishing industry? Is this like sharing music? Maybe the ebook is good idea for the publishing industry? Maybe it helps the mass passing of material and the cut down on sales at the counter....any thoughts on this?

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Diana Raabe Jan 26, 2011, 11:32am UTC

The publishing industry needed to adapt to technology advances just as the music industry did. I have a Sony reader and a Kindle - and I love them both. I did buy a paperback recently, though, when I had an unexpected overnight at Mayo Clinic. I didn't have my Kindle with me and was too far from home to have someone bring it to me.

It's kind of sad to see the bookstores (especially the used ones!) close their doors, but maybe there will be a resurgence if someone can come up with a better way to market used books - maybe combine them with some other product / service?

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Sue Richter Jan 26, 2011, 11:39am UTC

Good point about author's not being able to sign an ebook. If they figure that one out, the paperback is in trouble....signing on the electronic doted line....

Personally, I read faster and enjoy reading paper versions of books. I'm on a computer so much during the day that at the end of the day I really prefer to lay down and hold my paperback...no electronic buzz...just me and my book...and maybe a cup of tea.

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Are Ebooks Taking Over the Paperback?

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