Have Books Turned Their Last Page?

(CBS)  The era of the physical "book" may be ending.

This holiday season, Amazon.com says its E-reader, the Kindle, was its most-gifted item ever. And on Christmas Day, according to Amazon.com, E-books actually outsold physical books on the site.

Craig Berman, vice president of global communications at Amazon.com, said, "The best-selling, most wished for, most gifted product across the millions of products we have on Amazon is Amazon Kindle, our wireless e-reader."

CBS News science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg reported Amazon's Kindle and Barnes and Noble's Nook are just two E-readers that are helping people build new virtual libraries. The lightweight readers often hold as many as 1,500 books.

One Nook owner told CBS News, "Through the wireless feature on the Nook, you can download the book, and it takes just a few minutes, and then your book is in your library. And you can start reading it immediately."

But it's not just books, Sieberg noted. The struggling newspaper and magazine industries, he said, are also hoping to turn the page and cash in.

Randy Bennett, of the Newspaper Association of America, told CBS News, "It may not be a mass market product tomorrow, but I think there is a segment that will want that kind of platform to get their news and information."

Are E-readers here to stay?

Patrick LoBrutto, an editor and writer, said, "I think we've passed the tipping point. I think really just a matter of time before they become completely accepted."

Jeff Jarvis, the author of "What Would Google Do?" and associate professor at City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism, agreed the tipping point has passed.

On "The Early Show" he said, "Everything that can become digital, will. And it's what we're seeing with newspaper. I read mine on my iPhone. You can get it on the Kindle right now. You can use these devices, and it saves time and money and effort and (they are) a way to get more stuff than ever."

So how will the business of publishing change?

Jarvis said, "The Internet abhors middle men. It abhors waste. It creates direct connections. So what happens now is an author can write a book and it can go onto Kindle in no time flat. You don't need that middle process. Bookstores are closing. I think what's happening to news and newspapers is happening in books."

But will books themselves change?

Jarvis said they already are.

"Now the book can be digital, which means it can be updated, corrected, discussed. It can include multimedia, it can be found through search," he said. "The form of the book itself must change."

[ToolMangler1]

I think that Ebooks are going to do very well in the near future. They are versatile and easier to carry with you than a large suitcase full of bound paper books. These will be used by everybody and go further toward the 'paperless' revolution than ever. The only weakness here is one, A single "Electromotive Pulse" will render every electronic device useless and unfixable in a range of 100 sq miles (for a small Bomb) Every bit of electronic information will be erased and every transistor will be fried. If EMPs are employed against us, the only info we can access will be in Paper books, Photographs and Vinyl records.

[cidaia]

In my lifetime I have owned movies on Beta, VHS, laser disc, DVD and now we have new formats coming out, not that there is anything wrong with DVD but because publishers like squeezing money out of us. Why would I want the same in my books? If I just want to read them and not own them, there's this thing called a "library".

And I don't want to buy a new reader every two years.

And who owns the software? Does Amazon or Microsoft or Google get to have a monopoly on what amounts to the printing press itself? Will they have any veto power over what gets published, or control whose books get distributed, or which books get favorable distribution? Will authors or publishers or readers have to pay the owners of this software?

If I buy the rights to a book, how do I know they won't do to me what they did to my digital music collection - forcing updates that restrict my ability to use the media in ways that were legal according to the contract at the time of purchase? We don't have to have any contract at all to buy a book, and publishers can't come back later to change the terms.

Clearly, e-books are not being presented as an alternative to regular books, but as something that is intended to REPLACE traditional books. Who benefits from THAT? Not the consumer! Articles like this one are part of prepping us to move to e-books, like cows being herded.

[sjc_1]

Publishing is already electronic. Books are in the computer before they are printed, it takes very little effort to publish them electronically, they are already there. If this save trees, paper production, ink pollution and transporting energy expenditure, then great. It is fitting that Amazon started an online book store and now promotes a better way, after all the shipping to their warehouses and to customers that was done over the years.

[cidaia]

I love how they say "building virtual libraries". As if the paradigm of "owning your own library" were still valid, on a machine where the whole point is to reduce what you "own" to little more than pay-per-view.

But hey if they keep talking about its benefits, surely you won't ask who will hold the monopoly on the operating software, and whether the contract you'll have to agree to just to read your book will be as invasive as the Microsoft software contract, or whether the electronic leash on your book will be used to control your media use...

Of course, it doesn't get truly scary til you contemplate what things will be like after they've driven paper books from the marketplace altogether.

[berlinfoto-2009]

"Now the book can be digital, which means it can be updated, corrected, discussed. It can include multimedia, it can be found through search," he said. "The form of the book itself must change."
CENSORED OR DELETED, Gee want this make Winston Smith, easer.

[ianlou]

Lets face it. the number one problem with "books', for Publisher's and Authors is: Once a book is sold, it can be shared many, many.......many times!!!!!!!!!

Publishers and authors are eager to come up with a high tech method to ensure that each reader pays for any and all books they read.

....and the well read fish bite the hook......

[rwsmith29456]

I like nothing better than owning,holding and reading a book. I can see the electronic version coming strong and replacing a lot of printed material. After all, I don't read papers at all, I just get my news off the web. But NOTHING will EVER replace my cherished books.

[joniem]

I have one, and I love it! Many books are free - you don't have to pay $9.99 for each book you download. I've read numerous free books already. I have 80+ downloaded so far - mostly free books - and love how lightweight and easy it is to hold. I loved paper books, too, but this is just great!

[rickwar]

As an old bookseller, who owned 3 bookstores and a lover of books, I'll say this:

They work and they are very good at what they do. Those who want more from them (phone etc:) always seem to want the multi purpose device it seems.

How about some quiet time with no interruptions for reading alone?

I have two in the family, both Sony, they work well and to be honest, I don't want the newspaper on them. I like that I download to my computer then upload to the book. In the end I have 3 copies with the backup. Not important? Ask me about the storm that basically totaled my home last summer. Even though the readers were destroyed, I had all my "books" back in 24 hours.

I've been able to remove years of books from my shelves and save space and de-clutter. Between the 2 readers I have over 4,000 books stored.

The price? Between the free that Sony offered when purchased (100) and the Google free library and what I've bought the average price I've paid is about 2.87 a book, average. That's pretty reasonable and that includes the cost of the reader.

As to children books, photo essay etc: no, those have a way to go yet. I saw the first e-book concept back in 95 at a show in San Francisco and knew it would catch on.

The ability to change print size, make notes without ruining the book,to bookmark multiple pages and books, well like I said they work well.

At 61 I'm not new to technology and this tech is very nice.

[texanforlogi]

I know a couple of people who have one of these and the reviews are a mixed bag.

The hard-core readers mostly don't care for it. It's hard on the eyes, the batteries die at the worst possible time (critical point in the story), and the wireless downloads don't always work properly.

The occasional readers do seem quite satisfied with the device.

I'm hard-core, myself. At some point in the future, if I have any funds available for non-essentials, I wouldn't mind having one but actual, printed and bound books will always hold my heart.

[AnnieDanny]

I'm probably an old fahrt... (my nieces certainly think so) ... but I really don't think anything can replace sitting down with a good book and turning pages. Paper has it's own undeniable appeal. I love computers and I'm on mine for the majority of the day. But when I read for the fun of it, there's nothing like holding a book and relaxing in my favorite chair with a cup of coffee. Pure luxury.

[msay3]

Add a cozy fire in the fireplace on a rainy day, and you've got heaven.....