The Death of Books

I have for example certain difficulties acquiring books that came out in the world, because shipping and tolls would make the book at least 3 times more expensive. So for new publications, I can't wait to read, I have to pick the e-book version (if there is one that is).

I also don't like to have every book I ever read in hard copy format, because not every book I ever read was a good one.

But for my favorite books I absolutely prefer the hard copy and not just any hard copy that is, but a special hard cover edition if possible. Like my beautiful beautiful beeaaaaautiful collection of the works Edgar Allan Poe (it has even silver edged pages).

I think that such special hard copy editions will always exist.

This aversion to e-books seems like a recurring example of an older generation's fear that the way of life (in this case, how things are read) they're used to is being changed by the newer generation. Back in the days when the scourge of writing information on paper reared its ugly head, I bet the older generation lamented that the newfags wouldn't experience the bliss of memorizing whatever stories it was standard to know and passing them on by word of mouth; now they get to experience reading from some shitty pieces of paper with smelly ink on them.

I don't think that we'll ever get rid of books, but I do predict that digital books will eventually become the standard. As someone who prefers to read books on a portable gadget, I heartily welcome this change.

No matter how much you can fit onto an E-Reader it will never compare to holding the actual book in your hands. It's great for things you download for short reading or what you pirate, but if your going to buy and read a novel the physical book is much better. However, dome places (especially schools) could greatly benefit from the use of E-Readers. No more expensive mass purchases of textbooks which students regularly abuse and misplace. And if you can write of it then you can diminish the need for paper altogether. It will definitely have it's place in the world but I feel that the books we know and love will remain.

I have problems acquiring books cause of their price. Last book i wanted was from england and costs £279 (10% is shipping). I can buy a computer and go look for pirated versions with that money instead....

Books...One of the joyous element on Earth.
You never know how satisfying and being enlightened by holding it everywhere,flipping the pages.
The scent of old/new ink and the material of cover that they possess.
Books are always something good.I can't imagine a world without books in its own physical form.Dreadful.

I dont read much books but when i do come across a book that i find interesting, i go and find a nice hard cover of it.

heres a good book i just got "Skary Children" by Katy Towell. Great book.

I dislike e-books, I always prefer a physical copy of every medium albeit books, or games.

Owning books is alot better i think. Yes E-books are often convenient, But i still prefer the feel of holding a book and lounging somewhere in the forest to read it. makes for a better experience for me.

I've bought over two-thousand books in my life so far, and while I loved them, I eventually got rid of over 1500 of them. So, no more boxes of books in the garage and my 11 bookcases at home are comfortably full of books.

If you still love the feel of paper, the used bookstores are the place to get them. Whenever I traveled, I always spend a few hours of the trip, whether business or vacation trip, to visit used bookstores where I would buy a bunch and have the bookstore UPS a box of them to my home address. That's how it is easy to accumulate a lot of books in a short time.

I prefer reading books and manga on my laptop. The laptop doesn't feel off-putting and is more convenient for me. I can even lean back and read which is hard to do with a paperback book. Also, paperback books are all in that $7.99 price range and up nowadays. To me, they've priced themselves out of the market compared to the prices for ebooks.

ePub for the laptop and Kindle are fine for now. And there's even a lot of "ePubbers" out there making ebooks available just as scanlators and fansubbers make things available.....

I think that it really is unfortunate that books are being replaced with e-readers... :( I actually loathe kindles and other devices like it. >.< I enjoy actually going to bookstores and browsing through the aisles, and then sitting in a corner with a pile of books by my side, and just hearing the pages flip as I read through them. I also really love the scent of new books, too, and holding them super close to my face as the story starts to intensify. xD You just can't get that sort of experience with e-books. It also is sad that more and more bookstores are closing down now. TT_TT I was so heartbroken when Borders shut down... Even so, I absolutely refuse to join in on the kindle trend. If I have to, I'll just start ordering books off of ebay or something.

It's not completely horrible, but there are a plethora of incredible books out there that should only be read in their true, physical form. War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells is still my favorite of all time, along with any other works of his. I honestly just read a bit of manga every once and a while when I get them from the library, which should not be something that's converted to E-Reading. I suppose I'm half-and-half on the whole ordeal.

I like having paper in my hand, if ya know what I mean. Thats why I often buy manga rather than reading it online, and while I do read online as well, it just feels alot better holding that book in your hand. Books aren't gonna go away soon, at least in my opinion

The death of books? No! It can’t be!

There is something about the books that makes me want to read them always, instead of computer. When reading books, I find it more peaceful and calming.

Surely, technology is going on a fast pace, but I hope books are never to be forgotten…

Specially the HUNGER GAMES!

I'm not an avid reader but I prefer real books, for one thing their uses extends further to just providing knowledge and insights. I can sometimes use it paper weight or just have them neatly stored on a shelf for aesthetic purposes. I don't mean to sound like a troll but truthfully that is what I use them for. E-books would break or data corruption or something like that. But a book can last longer and seem more memorable. And I do agree that a real book feel is more adequate than something digital. I guess in the end a real book might well become somewhat of a collector's item more so than it is now.

The feel of paper and the smell of a book, that is something the digital format can never recreate.

I still prefer real books rather than virtual ones. I have a stash of them here in my room.
The feel of a real book for me is something unique, holding those two sides of the book, reading alone those lines made from priceless imagination.

That feel when I close the book to wipe some tears. Chuckle while holding it. A virtual book will never replace a real one.

Like what ExE said, I like the smell of books.

Ebooks are great for it's low price (amazon store takes the price down like 10 percent) and it's small size, compared to normal books.

I dunno, I still love them good old paperback. :D

Books are eternal in my opinion. When technology dies what are we gonna go back to? Books of course.