Are books dead, dying or neither?

Books and newspapers are still the way to go for me. No one is allowed to touch the newspapers that come to my house, before me. Nothing like a fresh newspaper... ahhh.. The fam thinks its funny, but they know not to rile mama bear, so its hands off til i read it. I still love the library, nothing like a good book you can't put down.

Books reading 50s-60s style is quickly becoming a thing of the past...whether we agree or not. I am still struggling to understand the shift to front wheel powered vehicles.

So if you buy an e book in Canada is it still more expensive than an e book in the USA?

Ken; To answer your question, of course. Canadians always pay more.

I still read books. I have no luck with digital products. I always know that if I have to hit the brakes for some reason, I can pick up my book from the floor, dust it off and read it again. I tried an e reader. It lasted 3 days then I dropped it. It appears you're not supposed to drop them.

Although my laptop travels with me whereever I go, I still throw a couple of books in with my luggage. I travel extensively, a work thing, but even at home I still pickup printed material. My children on the other hand hardly ever pick up a book, to my dismay, even though I read to them all the time when they were children. I often try to get them to pick up a newspaper and read it, it's pretty much an exercise in futility. Glued to a computer screen seems to be their thing, I think it has something to do with being able to search specific, no page turning, and get the information their interested in. In my opinion it narrows their observations, they don't pick up those interesting little tidbits because they skipped them. Are books dying? I don't think so, but they aren't likely to be printed as extensively as they were in the past would be my guess. Does it bother me? Not at all, I never was particularly fond of turning tree's into paper. Will I continue to read them, absolutely.

I still love paperbacks, when i am done reading my book, i take them to work, where we have a little library going. I have 36 people i work with, and those books go thru us all. then we take them to other depts. You can't do that with a e reader can you?

Last year I took 7 (yes - that's seven) boxes of books (at least 20 books per box) to the Salvation Army used goods store, so they could be 'recycled' and provide some money for charity. I had read ALL of these books several times. How can you do that with e-books?
It's a lot easier to sit in bed with your book leaning against your knees, or resting on the pillow, or whatever your favourite position, rather than trying to look at a small screen, having problems keeping it in a just-so position so you can actually read it without glare or distortion.
You can also trade books with your friends or co-workers - something you can't do with e-books. Also, not everyone in this world can afford the luxury of a laptop etc. Some can afford one but don't want one. I don't think books will ever become 'extinct'.

I never ever thought I would switch to the e-reader, but I love it! No more library fines, no more trying to find purses that fit my book, not sore backs from carrying way too many books on vacations. I also find it easier to read in bed with, which I really never thought would be the case. I think people should try them before judging, and decide what works for them. I read a TON, so the e-reader works well for me, as I don't have enough storage space for all my books. Now I only buy my absolute favorites on paperback, so I can share them with others.

Like other readers, I too have carted off boxes filled with books, all of which I have read, to libraries for donation. I love reading books, however, I did NOT like having to pack 4-5 books for a two week vacation (yes, I read a minimum of 2-3 books per week) which took up valuable realestate in my carry on and checked baggage. I also did not like to have to tag along the infamous booklight, which eventually would get smashed in my luggage requiring the need to acquire a new one, so I could read in bed without disturbing my husband's sleep.

Now, I have a kindle with a case that has a built-in light (how cool is that? Gone are the days of wondering where the heck my husband placed my book light) and I ABSOLUTELY love it! I have over 1000 books on my kindle and it is a dream. I no longer have to decide which book to bring, I can just bring them all. Yeah!!! Gone are the days of figuring out what I need to sacrifice in clothes or accessories so I can fit my books in my luggage weight allotment. Gone are the days of wondering where to store books after I have read them - a closet is only so big. Gone are the days of paying WAAAYYY more than I should for a paperback book.

I do value Reference books in print copy, but mindless reading that is purely for entertainment, and inspirational books are so much easier to handle on an ereader.

books will never be the past for children. nothing beats reading a night time story to children. imagine holding an interactive story with a screen for kids at night? they'd never get to sleep

It's difficult to read things on an e-reader for me. It's impersonal and stimulus-free -- everything just looks the same when I try to read something on those things. I think I'll continue to stay faithful to our paper friends.

If you drop a book, all you have to do is pick it back up. If you drop ereader...

poolside or at the beach - you can leave your book on your lounge chair or towel and it will be waiting when you come back. leave an ereader....

I have read books all my life, and have many boxes to show for it! What I hope to see is that my daughter going to college can get her books in epub or pdf format....Once it is purchased and downloaded, she can put it on anything now....ereader, Playbook, iPod or iPhone, or all of the above! I gifted my Mum a Sony for Mothers Day, her a forty year DoubleDay book club member, but she has developed a severe allergy to ink and books so the ereader is a blessing! In Canada, the kobo newspaper and magazines are not available, but I hope it comes. I am reading books on my Playbook every day at work, and love it! The ereading phenomena is environmentally and economically friendly, weighs less than a pound, and I easily bookmark and highlight the pages that are relevant. I, for one, welcome this technological advance (PS I am over 40, by the way!)

I like having the option of both the e-reader and a book. I like the e-reader while I am traveling on the train to get to work. But the book works best when camping.

When the zombie apocalypse happens...and all the power goes out...I'll still have my books...but you guys won't be able to recharge your ereader.

All my business readings (newspapers and magazines) are in e-format. However, for bedtime reading or downtime, nothing beats the feel of the paper when turning the pages of a paperback or newspaper.

ebooks can be convenient. However, never had my real book be unreadable because of the sunshine, scratched a page while reading at the beach, oops dropped it in the tub while soaking, good thing it dries easily.
The TV will destroy the movie industry, movies will destroy the stage, VHS will kill theatres...TV will destroy radios. ebooks will become a market, but not destroy print.
Does amazon's figures really state the truth, or only that for amazon ebooks outsell their paper books. I live in a small town with 3 bookstores, all doing well. Maybe in the big world ebooks aren't all that hot. The early adopters don't always survive.

And no ereader will ever replace a book in bed. Fall asleep with the book on your chest, slips to the floor and in the morning you step on it. Goodbye ereader.

Not everyone has an Ipad or an E reader. I'm one of them. I am of the just over 40 crowd and getting increasingly frustrated seeing so many things dying out in front of me. I will always treasure sitting in a comfy armchair underneath some dim lighting, wrapped in a throw, reading a book. A REAL book. One the requires me to turn the pages. Tactile is in. I feel that technology is making people anti-social and indifferent. It's like we're all being expected to move into a virtual world.

I have an ereader and love it. It's not too heavy, I have an unlimited amount of memory for all my books, I can make notes on it and play music. I've dropped it and it survived (good workmanship Sony) and my grandaughter draws pictures on it which I can carry with me. It was a great Christmas present. I still have books but will no longer buy paperbacks due to dwindling natural resources. And I've read authors that I have downloaded for free whom I would never have purchased but will now that I've been introduced. I can read a book in three hours so it's great to only carry my reader and not several books when travelling. Will I purchase books in the future? Yes, but not as many and only for special occasions and reasons (I can't see using my ereader for cooking) and there's nothing quite like a book when sharing knowledge with young people. ereaders are great for fiction and entertainment but I don't think they will replace all books on the market.

Books aren't dead. I am still reading my second copy of Saint Errant, by Leslie Charteris. I had to replace my first one after i wore it out with my hands and eyes. Now I am thinking about replacing the one I have with a newer one. Too bad good books like that are out of print...And, it'll be a while before I turn forty.

I'm 19, and an avid reader. It isn't unusual for me to read a 250-450 page book per day. And I have to say that there is nothing better than a REAL book. I'm disgusted by the thought of an e-reader ... There's nothing I love more than sitting down to read through a 750 page book in 6 hours. If I tried THAT on an e-reader, I'd have the migraine from hell. Besides, books have been serving us well for thousands of years ... whatever happened to "if it isn't broken, don't fix it" ???

As a young person, I admit that the majority of my generation does not read at all. I seem to be among a sharply shrinking demographic that continues to read frequently. Fellow students at my school spell atrociously, cannot write a proper essay, and have a vocabulary equivalent to that of a toddler (excluding profanities, of which they are quite knowledgeable). I blame these shortfalls to not reading! I was once terrible at spelling and writing, until I began to read frequently, which I owe entirely to the Harry Potter series, for commencing my interest in books. I was always top in my class at spelling and writing essays is easy, which I attribute to reading. The more you read the more you understand sentence, paragraph, and general writing structure. Your vocabulary improves as you are exposed to new words. Your world opens up to new eras, people, places, and ideas. Ereaders and books aside, the important thing is that people are reading. If ereaders interest people in reading, than it is a good thing.

For me, traditional books all the way. You can drop a paperback and still read it, I doubt too many of those stupid E readers could survive. And lugging around some huge, clumsy E reader, compared to the nice, compact size of a real book, no way. I'm tired of all this stupid rush to the latest silly electronic gadget, everybody has to have the very lastest in phones, computers, and every thing else that greedy companies can dream up, then make you feel like dog-doo, if you don't immediately rush out and buy it, they can shove their ads. The old 'keeping up with the Joneses" snobbery, 21 century style.

And MizKel's comment, right on taget. Exactly the way I feel.

Books are still the way to go for me. I have kobo but for those of us who like to have a bubble bath and read a paperback is still the way to go.

Well, I hope that books are never out of style. Personally I still enjoy the feel of a boko in my hands although on trips I can see where something along the line of an ereader would be helpful in keeping the amount of packing down. I think that they can work together, the ereader does not have to "doom" the book. I agree though that reading, and writing, is becoming a lost art. Even on the interent I find more and more of the stories in video format, instead of written. While some benefit from this many are simply a sign of the laziness of today...it seems to me that people are finding it harder and harder to take the time to read.

Talk about environmentally friendly, yes resources go into creating a physical paperback, but what about having to recharge the ereader every so often? Leave the holier than thou green footprint business out of it.

I have a Kobo which is the Chapters/Indigo version of the Kindle and as much as I love it, I still buy some physical books. I purchase books that I would like to keep or read again, or loan to somebody. I use my Kobo to read books that I will likely only read once, newspapers and journal articles (as a university student this saves me printing a lot of useless information). The Kobo is great because I can put any pdf file on it, not just ebooks, which means that I also use it for downloaded knitting patterns so that I don't have to print them out if I'm just going to need it once.

I have always preferred the tactile nature of real books. The cracking of the spine, the feel of the paper between my fingers, the smell of the old, yellowing pages. It's personable and personal. E-books are fine for people who are rushed and always on the go, but I have always thought that the point of a book has always been to slow down.

I'd like to hang on to the printed physical book but the convenience of an ereader has just about convinced me to switch especially since we're about to have another postal strike in Canada. An ereader skips the middle men and allows instant gratification when shopping on line!