Re: Will we still buy books in bookstores in 2050?

Brad Endarchy <[email protected]> Wed, 21 Oct 2020 08:42:11 -0500

Newsgroups	alt.books
Organization	A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID	<[email protected]>

On 10/20/20 6:38 PM, Francisco wrote:
> On 01-10-2020 14:26, [email protected] wrote:
>> Even though holding a book in your hands is an awesome sensation,
>> can we still expect future generations to do ?
>> We should make sure to transmit this heritage.
>> I believe that books are pieces of art and deserve to be printed
>>
>> However, the easy and fast access to books online,
>> which leads to lighter bags, no waiting for a long time that the
>> editor prints
>> a new round of that book everyone wants to read,
>> makes online reading very attractive.
>>
>> How can we explain the advantages of printed books to the
>> new generation so used to screens and fast downloading?
>>
>>
>>
>>    
> 
> Lately with the pandemic I noticed that small publishers started selling
> more and more physical books. Even though technology exists and it's
> pretty awesome to read from a kindle, a kobo or just a cheap tablet.
> 
> I think people like how personal libraries look like and covers are
> beautiful so reading off-line is very attractive as well! Not to mention
> that physical books have some resale value which epubs or mobi files
> don't have. It's not just the information on its pages.

I agree. I think the market for physical print books will change though.
Books that people 'just consume' and then probably never read again
(e.g. most of your fiction) will likely bend toward mostly digital books
and/or just library books in terms of print.

Many people, however, will still find having that copy of a favorite
work, fiction or non-fiction, on their shelf that can be used at any
time and is not bound by batteries or electricity to be something they
crave (plus the decor factor of having a personal library).

Despite having a Kindle and reading most of my materials from the
Library (electronic or print), I have bought more books in the past two
years than probably the previous 15... as I have focused on buying books
I want to KEEP permanently, regardless of technology or whatever, or
that I want to pass down.

Print books have staying power. Readers understand this. Like I said, I
do think people will be far more intentional about what they buy. Maybe
there are fewer copies of the latest Patterson novel out there but
that's IMHO a good thing: let the mass-market stuff go digital.

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