So will fiction and children’s books be enough to keep bookstores alive? Yes, but the already large cafe space in most big box bookstores, where people read and sip coffee (there were as many people using laptops as there were reading physical books) will continue to grow as the shelf space shrinks. That will continue until print-on-demand technology eventually makes shelf space itself obsolete.
While book themselves... as physical objects... won't become obsolete within our lifetimes, they will eventually go the way of the 8-track tape. The process has started, and this is a sign of the standard publishing industry's long slow slide into extinction. The "issues" that music and movies are having will eventually spread to books as well. The question is, will the publishing industry act like asses to save themselves as their music/movie counterparts are doing now.
This is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteWhile book themselves... as physical objects... won't become obsolete within our lifetimes, they will eventually go the way of the 8-track tape. The process has started, and this is a sign of the standard publishing industry's long slow slide into extinction. The "issues" that music and movies are having will eventually spread to books as well. The question is, will the publishing industry act like asses to save themselves as their music/movie counterparts are doing now.