Are Books Becoming Obsolete?

I think what we are all seeing is the 'Great Digital Divide'. I love holding a book in my hands and reading. There is something gratifying (and sad, unless its a never ending story) about watching the pages dwindle. I converted over to digital because I lived on a boat and space was at a premium. Now, I have anywhere for 50 to 100 books with me all the time ranging from text books on programming to the latest fantasy novel from Gini Koch to books I would like to read again from Isaac Asimov and Lisanne Norman.

There was a report recently about how Millenials are causing shopping malls to go under, and many of the 'old restaurants' such as Chilis and TGI Fridays are also slowly failing. The same is true in the publishing world. The younger people are simply moving away from print media. I see it everyday at the University I work for. Today, it is rare to see someone with physical text books. Everyone is reading them on their laptops, tablets, and once in a while on their phones.

It isn't a bad thing, persay. It is just a different way of consuming media. For those of us who enjoy print books, it is a sad movement. But think about this for a moment. Vinyl records to tape media to CDs to MP3s. There are still records out there, tape media has more or less gone away, but CDs are still going strong in the dual with the conversion to Digital Media.

As the media gets better, I'm seeing a lot of my reader friends move to audiobooks (one of my best friends only read(?) my debut novel when the publisher released it as an audiobook). So there's another variable in the mix, too.

ReflectiveAcuity said:

My wife and I did as millions of others around the world did over the holidays; we went shopping at the local mall. On that particular day, nearly every square inch of the building was jammed-packed with shoppers. Every store filled to capacity, except for one, which I’ll get to in a moment. As we walked along a corridor, practically rubbing elbows with others, I turned my head and looked into Waldenbooks. Aside from the clerk at the register and a single individual near the back of the store reaching up to one of the shelves, the store was completely empty! I turned to my wife, who is well aware of my love of books, and I said, “Look at how empty that store is. That is sad. That is really sad.”

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I used to love going to Borders, Waldenbooks and those other brick and mortar bookstores for hours and just read books, smell them, walk around, and eventually buy one or two books. It was my way of releasing the days stress accumulated from work.

Now... those bookstores are gone. It reminds me - in my mind - of the Nothing that ate away at Fantasia in the Neverending Story. That meditative sanctuary I once went to for refuge is now gone. I miss the smell of those new books on those shelves.

Browsing Amazon for books isn't the same. And although I've learned to love my kindle... ebooks just aren't the same. I catch myself bringing my kindle up to my nose to smell it sometimes, as if it were a book. And the smell of plastic brings your mind back to the reality that the Landscape is indeed changing.

She remarked something about how, more and more, people are turning to the Internet or electronic devices for their reading. That picking up an actual hardcover or paperback book and turning its pages is becoming a thing of the past.

That is sad.

RA

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It makes me nervous inside to see our contemporary human civilization develop such an intense love affair with such an ephemeral medium as cyberspace and the 'electronic medium.'

Especially when you consider that books, and the wisdom and stories therein, are forms of Art, cultural art, the art of a civilization and its people. It just feels 'not-good' to see such wisdom and cultural artifacts exist only on the transient electronic medium and clunky electronic devices made to stop functioning properly in a year or two.

Its like if artists such as painters were to abandon the canvas and instead make their art work with photoshop and display them all via the electronic medium.

I know the "landscape is changing." But I think the collective impetus for that change may be in the most part: faulty.

What I mean is that most of us need money. And book authors, publishing houses, electronic device makers, Amazon, all would like to make money. And so, everyone naturally follows the money and goes where the money is.

In other words: the change from a tangible medium to an intangible ephemeral medium is, in general, motivated by money, and not by some desire to further develop or evolve books, writing, the art or writing, and so on.

These are, of course, my personal opinions, feelings, and views of the situation. Which may themselves be faulty.

Chloe007 said:

Its like if artists such as painters were to abandon the canvas and instead make their art work with photoshop and display them all via the electronic medium.

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Actually a lot of artists are doing exactly that. Even if they create physical work like paintings and hand-drawings, they're turning to the internet to distribute their images and gain a following.

One medium that has particularly flourished thanks to the internet is animation. I spent my teenage years in awe of good animation, and I would have loved the opportunity to try and make my own, but I had exactly zero chance of getting my hands on the expensive equipment necessary to make that happen. The closest I ever came to animating anything was doodling flip animations in the corner of a notebook. A while back, I saw a flash animation that had been posted online by a 12-year-old kid. It was about what you'd expect from a typical kid that age. Nothing spectacular, but it showed a lot of promise. All I could think was, "man, I would have given my right eye to have access to software like this when I was that age."

I, too, miss the smell and feel of books, and the joy of browsing in bookstores, but while I lament the decline of the medium, paper doesn't make the book. The essence of the book are the words and ideas it expresses, whether it's written on a scroll, or in a book, or in a line of code. And, like water taking on the form of any container, artists will always find a way to adapt and thrive.

Tazlima said:

The essence of the book are the words and ideas it expresses, whether it's written on a scroll, or in a book, or in a line of code. And, like water taking on the form of any container, artists will always find a way to adapt and thrive.

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Hmm... very good point. I hadn't seen it that way. Gives me something to think about! Thanks

You absolutely forgot to include "The Vapors." An extremely important block to feminine empowerment. And don't think it does not exist. They just call it by different names these daze.

noirdood said:

You absolutely forgot to include "The Vapors." An extremely important block to feminine empowerment. And don't think it does not exist. They just call it by different names these daze.

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You know I see no reason to put up with really idiotic amateur trolling. You need to stop trying to be witty and concentrate on reading. Start with The Newbie Guide to Absolute Write

Books obsolete...don't be ridiculous...my wife uses the books I've written to stand on so she reach the top shelf in the kitchen...so I think the answer to your question has to be a resounding no...

Oddly, I have started to see an ebook backlash among my students. This is new. I'm seeing fewer Kindles and more purchase of "paper books", even though many of the texts we read are available for free on amazon or proj. g.

As i have gotten older, and more in the modernized world, I forgot what it was like to actually read an actual book. Come to think of it, I don't know when was the last time i went to a Bookstore. I have a library card and use the library app on my tablet, so I am definitely guilty of neglecting real books. Even my eyes aren't accustomed to actually reading a book by a lamp because I have become so accustomed to "looking at a screen"

That being said, I am going to try and go out to my library more, (I did a lot this summer), and try and buy more paperback books rather than electronic. I mean I have Amazon Prime so it will only take two days anyway, and most paperbacks are dirt cheap.

Great thread by the way, nice discussion you have going on here!

I personally think it's just a matter of preference. If you make the one-time investment in a Kindle of, what, maybe 75 bucks, then you can download hundreds of free or cheap books--the cost effectiveness (and slim size) is an attractive option for a lot of people. I got a Kindle awhile back because of this, but ended up heading back to paperback just because I found it hard to have the pages so small for some reason.

The real trouble for me is if the bookstores and libraries start closing.

When I was at university our English Lit professor gave us a lecture on 'The Book as an Object'. At the start, he told a theatre of 200 students that the class wasn't mandatory, it didn't contain any information that would count towards our final exams and said we could leave if we liked. About half the class left, but I stayed and he proceeded to gave the most wonderful diatribe about the beauty of the book as an object- appreciating the smell of the glue and the paper, the way it feels in your hand, the satisfaction of turning a page... it was one of the most memorable classes of my life!

And to this day, I'm still not tempted to buy a Kindle. Some people really love books- just in the same way people started to reclaim vinyl records. For all the inconvenience of carrying it around, a physical book gets my vote everytime!

I love being able to buy a book and get it immediately. I love being able to carry around one tablet and having all those books at my fingertips. I love being able to read without worrying about lighting. Those are the pros.

The cons are maybe a little less easy to define. I don't enjoy reading a kindle as much as I do a physical book. I've tested this by buying books that I've read in the past both as paper and as e-book. All other things being equal, I'd prefer paper.
I've also found that the incredible availability of e-books of all levels of quality actually works against kindle. I vaguely remember some studies that showed that too much choice could actually make it harder to choose. Also, if the range of quality is larger, it's a given that it's the bottom end that's being extended, not the top end. Therefore, the average quality of e-books is lower than the average quality of physical books. That's a gatekeeper thing.

But all in all, it's a game of millimeters. I don't think there's really a clear victor.

Chloe007: It makes me nervous inside to see our contemporary human civilization develop such an intense love affair with such an ephemeral medium as cyberspace and the 'electronic medium.'

Especially when you consider that books, and the wisdom and stories therein, are forms of Art, cultural art, the art of a civilization and its people. It just feels 'not-good' to see such wisdom and cultural artifacts exist only on the transient electronic medium and clunky electronic devices made to stop functioning properly in a year or two.

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I'm still trying to figure out how to quote properly. Anyways, I totally agree with this and I think the transition to purely digital format is dangerous. I'll explain. Record keeping is how we know about ancient civilizations. They wrote on stone, etc. Paper can last a long time and be passed down to future generations so that the wisdom of our time is preserved. If everything is digital, those files are prone to corruption, deletion, ect. And if anything happened to our electricity say goodbye to literature as we know it.

Timeforce said:

I'm still trying to figure out how to quote properly. Anyways, I totally agree with this and I think the transition to purely digital format is dangerous. I'll explain. Record keeping is how we know about ancient civilizations. They wrote on stone, etc. Paper can last a long time and be passed down to future generations so that the wisdom of our time is preserved. If everything is digital, those files are prone to corruption, deletion, ect. And if anything happened to our electricity say goodbye to literature as we know it.

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Or one good EMP.

Me and my friend have this argument all the time back in college. We both worked at a shipping company where we could wear headphones as we worked and so I would always listen to audiobooks as a way to pass the time. He would always get upset at me claiming I was part of the cause of books and bookstores going out of business which always bothered me because I never saw it that way. Sure maybe I wasn't helping the problem of hardcover sells going down or bookstores closing but I saw it as just another change to go with the times. Most people I know now a days don't own bookshelves filled to the brim with stories they read as kids but they do own audible accounts with a 1000+ hours of audio on them. I would have never had(made) time for the books I have listen to through audible, mostly do to my dislexia that makes reading a real chore sometimes. So I don't see it as such a sad thing as just a new way of storytelling, just as our ansectors told stories to through voice and entertainment so will we.

I wrote this on my phone so I apologize for spelling and grammar errors

I don't think books are becoming obsolete, but I do think there is a big shift to digital media over print.

That said, the majority of people I talk to "claim" to see ebooks as "illegitimate" for lack of a better word. I don't think hard copies are going anywhere, but with the cost of printing rising and shelf space more limited than gold these days, I would say electronic reading as the "preferred" media is inevitable.

But then again, all things circle around. Amazon is building brick and mortar stores, afterall. I think print will become more popular too.

The day that books TRULY go obsolete is the day I pack my bags and go live as a hermit in the woods.

However, the biggest drawback I see with e-books is what happens when the media changes?

I have tons of computer games I can't play without all kinds of gyrations because they're DOS based, or on 3.5 floppies. I have a huge VHS library I can't access because I can't find a VHS player forcing me to re-buy my library in DVD or rely on whether or not Netflix "might" have it available this month. Don't even get me started on the whole Vinyl to tape to 8-track to cassette to CD to iPod to on-line .... argh. (Quick, someone hand me my walker and my "get off my lawn" sign.)

Digital is completely reliant on a specific means of relaying information remaining dominant. As soon as "the next great thing comes along", then it forces you to have to re-buy everything to work on the next system or to have to spend time and money to convert everything.

One good thing about books (and pictures and film) is the medium to access them stays the same throughout their lifetime (and mine, albeit, the reading glasses do make it a bit more enjoyable).

Richard White said:

However, the biggest drawback I see with e-books is what happens when the media changes?

Digital is completely reliant on a specific means of relaying information remaining dominant. As soon as "the next great thing comes along", then it forces you to have to re-buy everything to work on the next system or to have to spend time and money to convert everything.

One good thing about books (and pictures and film) is the medium to access them stays the same throughout their lifetime (and mine, albeit, the reading glasses do make it a bit more enjoyable).

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That is very true, and I have been bitten by that already in the digital e-book arena. At some point, book readers will be able to read multiple formats, or at least I would hope that would be the case. I would much rather go only one place for my library instead of iBooks, Kindle app, B&N Reader, etc. I don’t care which one develops the technology first. All of them have a pretty good UI.

I don't know if it matters, but I have never read an e book. I've bought used books over the internet, and still go to the library for real books. Ironically I will be publishing my wife's book in e form.

I do read from Kindle a lot, but I do still love paper books as well. There's a used book store around the corner from my office that I frequent. I find that I like the books of yesterday better than those of today.

I'll admit, I didn't read the entirety of the thread (please forgive me, but it was sixteen pages long when I arrived!) but I WORK in a bookshop, and if the Christmas Armageddon we just had is anything to go by, physically printed books are not going out of style any time soon. Books are a HUGE gift idea for others - because a lot of people still do like to read, because there are still plenty of coffee tables that need a focal point, because there are more kids than you can shake a stick at who still get EXCITED at the idea of a new book and who will spend ages, as long as you'll let them and then some, browsing the shelves and wriggling because they're so thrilled. "Mom, can I get this one" is an oft-repeated refrain.

I myself have a eReader, but that's largely a logistical thing. I don't drive, and I read on the bus. But given the speed at which I read and my tendency towards fickleness in what I read, I used to strike problems all the time. I'd finish the book I brought and have nothing left. Or I wouldn't feel like the book I brought, and have no alternative. My Kindle solves both of those problems without the need to cart 18lbs of book along with me everywhere I go!

On the flip side, I am blessed that I have a mother who knows me and what I am like, and bought me the Kindle as a present. Realistically, there are thousands upon thousands of people out there, especially in this economy, who can far more readily afford the ~$30 it costs to buy a book than they can afford the ~$200 it costs to buy an eReader, no matter how enticingly prices eBooks are after the initial layout. Especially since they can then, if they choose to, sell the book to a second hand dealer, or put it on eBay, or sell it to a friend at a nominal cost, to then recoup some of that cost/gain money toward the next one.

I don't think the physical book is going anywhere, or I wouldn't still have a job.

I think books are still relevant but many people prefer e=books now since you can store a lot of books in it and you can take them anywhere. Physical books take up lots of space. Moreover, millenials tend to move and transfer to different places a lot and an electronic reader is more feasible and practical than carrying physical books. i love to read a lot but carrying all of my books with me will take ages!!

For the younger generations probably yes. However, I think it depends on everyone's preferences. If you love being in a quiet space, coffee place, surrounded by nature, etc. and read the printed copy of a book you own, you won't switch to online sources or audio books. I don't know about you but I love holding the book and that's weird but feeling the smell of the paper. It's more engaging and brings you pleasure. But I guess for the younger generations it will be completely obsolete since their age is trying to digitalize everything.