Are ebooks the end of normal books?
For people who love to read, this is a very exciting time. Electronic e-readers, which allow you
to read thousands of digital books on one device, seem to be popping up everywhere. These devices
seem poised to change the publishing industry the way that mp3 music downloads changed the music
industry a decade ago. But are ebooks the end of normal books? Will traditional paper books soon
become obsolete?
To be sure, there are many advantages to an ebook over a traditional book. Instead of taking a trip to the bookstore, you can download a book on the day of release in a matter of minutes. And since an ebook device can store thousands of titles, one can conceivably carry an entire library's worth of material in their travel bag or purse. For those with eyesight problems who need larger print, ebook text sizes are totally adjustable. However there are drawbacks as well. Normal books will never run low on battery power and need to be recharged. Dropping a traditional book will rarely do much damage, whereas dropping an ebook reader could result in the device being destroyed. And replacing a normal book that is damaged is much cheaper than replacing an e-reader device.
A factor that will likely play a big part in this is the price of books. Traditionally, when one buys a normal book, one is not only paying the author and publisher, but also all the costs involved in preparing, printing, binding, shipping and stocking of the book. Conceivably, with an ebook, there are none of these additional costs and therefore prices for ebooks should be considerably cheaper. As of right now, however, the cost difference between normal books and their digital counterparts are not that great.
Lastly, the biggest factor will be whether or not people will give up the tradition of reading a book or magazine bound on paper. Traditional books have been around for thousands of years as opposed to recorded music which has only been around about a hundred or so. The most likely scenario is that the ebook market will continue to grow and become a big part of publishing. But it will not replace traditional books. Some books will sell better as ebooks while others do better as regular books. As television did not replace movie theaters but gave people another entertainment option, so will ebooks add to the many ways people read their books.
To be sure, there are many advantages to an ebook over a traditional book. Instead of taking a trip to the bookstore, you can download a book on the day of release in a matter of minutes. And since an ebook device can store thousands of titles, one can conceivably carry an entire library's worth of material in their travel bag or purse. For those with eyesight problems who need larger print, ebook text sizes are totally adjustable. However there are drawbacks as well. Normal books will never run low on battery power and need to be recharged. Dropping a traditional book will rarely do much damage, whereas dropping an ebook reader could result in the device being destroyed. And replacing a normal book that is damaged is much cheaper than replacing an e-reader device.
A factor that will likely play a big part in this is the price of books. Traditionally, when one buys a normal book, one is not only paying the author and publisher, but also all the costs involved in preparing, printing, binding, shipping and stocking of the book. Conceivably, with an ebook, there are none of these additional costs and therefore prices for ebooks should be considerably cheaper. As of right now, however, the cost difference between normal books and their digital counterparts are not that great.
Lastly, the biggest factor will be whether or not people will give up the tradition of reading a book or magazine bound on paper. Traditional books have been around for thousands of years as opposed to recorded music which has only been around about a hundred or so. The most likely scenario is that the ebook market will continue to grow and become a big part of publishing. But it will not replace traditional books. Some books will sell better as ebooks while others do better as regular books. As television did not replace movie theaters but gave people another entertainment option, so will ebooks add to the many ways people read their books.