Books Are Here To Stay

This is my second Road Trip Wednesday. If you don’t know what that is, check out the details from YA Highway’s blog.

Today’s question: Assuming we make it through the 2012 apocalypse, what do you imagine the publishing world will look like 100 years from now?

The best answer? I have no idea, and no one else does either.

I do know that digital will be a huge part of the publishing industry.

I also know that physical books aren’t going to disappear.

There will have to be changes. Obviously. Things are changing right now. We’re on the cusp of physical and e-books being affordable for nearly everyone. And pretty soon, e-readers and tablets and such are going to decrease in price so much that e-books are the cheaper option that physical books. This is one reason (along with portability, convenience, etc.) why e-books will override physical books. Not in a hundred years, but like…next week.

But physical books are here to stay, even if in a slightly different way. Right now physical books are cheap. They’re for everyone—indeed, we publish mass market for a reason! In a few (not nearly 100) years, physical books won’t be special enough or unique enough to compete against the digital world.

That’s when we’re going to have to publish ‘different’ physical books. Books will need to feel special and they’ll need to have a reason for people to want to put them on their shelves. Just like during the Renaissance when books were rare, special, and beautifully illuminated, books of the future will need something to encourage consumers to want the physical version rather than the (most likely) cheaper and more easily portable digital version. This can be solved by publishing books that are unique. Books that deserve to be displayed and ‘awwww-ed’ over. These stunning hand-sewn covers that are part of the Penguin Threads Deluxe Classics and the beautiful leather-bound editions that HarperCollins sells at Barnes and Noble are early examples of publishers looking for ways to make books feel special and collectable. I even discovered while reading Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom (about Harper’s legendary children’s book editor and director) that they wanted to publish the sequel to Little Fur Family with a real rabbit’s fur cover in the 1950s!

While I’m not suggesting that we publish books with fur coats, physical books are going to have to change somehow to compete in the marketplace as digital becomes more attractive and competitive. There are going to be lots of changes in publishing in the next one, five, fifty or one hundred years. Changes that we cannot predict, but I know two things for certain: one, no matter how much time goes by, books are here to stay. And two, I can’t wait to see what happens.

eReaders

The holidays are quickly approaching, and Black Friday is this Friday…which means one thing: SHOPPING!

I’ll be the first to admit it: I love shopping.  Books, clothes, random kitchen gadgets that I’ll never need, you name it.  One of the biggest items on everyone’s radar this holiday season are eReaders.  If you’re on the market for one, this list is a really helpful way to make a decision on which eReader is best for you.

I don’t own an eReader.  Not yet, anyways.  I like, okay, love books.  Physical, hold them and smell them and watch them sit prettily on your overflowing bookshelf books.  A friend or family member can’t personalize an eBook.  An author can’t sign an eBook. eBooks don’t have pretty covers.  Most eBooks can’t have special fonts.  As of right now, eBooks just can’t do what physical books can do.

But…and there always is a but…eBooks are great, too.  eBooks are cheaper than physical books.  That means MORE BOOKS- there is nothing more awesome than that! Although, of course, you have to factor in the cost of the eReader.  Depending on your eReader, you can download eBooks anywhere you can get an internet connection.  eBooks only weigh as much as the eReader- a big plus for the girl who has been carrying anywhere from two to six books in her purse for the past three weeks.  This is HUGE for traveling purposes.  And I already exclaimed my joy for borrowing eBooks from the library. 

So there we have it; my list of pros and cons for eBooks and eReaders.   I don’t think Santa is going to be bringing me an eReader this Christmas, but it’s definitely something that’s on my radar for a later date.  What are your thoughts?  Do you own an eReader?  How do you like it? Will you purchase one this holiday season?

eBooks and an Awesome Building

Because I spend so much time around books, I’m constantly discovering new and fun facts about books.  But try as I might, I can’t always find a way to turn those tidbits into a full blog post.  Therefore, I am introducing FUN FACT FRIDAYS, during which I will share any interesting book related discovery from the past week.   Here my are my two for this week:

* Perhaps I’m behind the times, but did you know that you can borrow eBooks from the library? I was in a bit of a snag last weekend- I needed to read some books to prep for my interview on Tuesday but the library was closed by the time I could reach it on Saturday, closed on Sunday, and I didn’t have a means to get to the library on Monday.  I really didn’t want to go buy the books (not to mention it’s a 25 minute drive to my nearest bookstore in CT-I know, it’s a travesty).  Anyways, so I had this problem and was fiddling around with the NYPL website and I discovered eBooks!  The two books that I wanted to read, When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead and Hoot by Carl Hiaasen were there and I downloaded them onto my computer within seconds.  Of course, not all books are available in eBook form and you have to read them on your computer screen (eye strain-yuck!), but when you’re in a bind like I am (or just lazy), being able to borrow eBooks from the library is pretty darn AMAZING!

* The Random House building in NYC is designed with a short tower, three tall towers, and then another short tower- 3 books between two bookends!  How cool is that?  The picture book Skyscraper by Susan E. Goodman and photographed by Michael Doolittle has a good picture of the creative design if you can’t get to NYC and see it yourself.

Hope you find these fun facts interesting…there will be more next week!