I will always want to have a paperback in my hand and not a digital reader. Monitors or any kind, cheap or high end are tough on the eyes. I can sit on my couch or in bed and read for hours. Sitting in front of any kind of screen for hours is uncomfortable.

What if the add-ons are things like:

* Personalization: they do this with children’s books now, but you can imagine romance novels and maybe even thrillers having “Mad Lib” style settings and characters.

* Regional versions: for nonfiction books, what if your copy of How Green Are You came with localized info about your recycling and vegan options in an area?

* Extra chapters: like DVDs.

* Follow-on material: what happens after “the end?”

So, it *could* happen. Who knows? : )

I too agree that the feeling of a real printed book in our hands can’t be reproduced by any kind of digital device.

But on another aspect, could you imagine the huge amount of trees we would save if we reduced the printing of books? I know, some would says that digital products create their whole stack of pollution and deforestation also. I’m no scientific, so I can’t tell which one is worst for our tiny, fragile little planet.

One thing is sure, digital book are comings. In about a decade or two, printed books will becoming a rare item.

hey chris
i couldnt tell from your comment if you were talking about add-ons to digital books or traditional books, from trees.
any add-ons would have to be something that can’t be digitally copied. dinner anyone?

when I first read this post I was certain that in 5 years I would still be holding paperback books, however, I started to think about my massive collection of books that are sitting in my house, and how I have never read a book more than once, so they usually just pile up in my house, or I donate them. It would be great to have 1 digital portable reader that you could just keep downloading new books to. There could be endless possibilities with digital book technology. Wouldn’t it be great if you were reading a book and there could be videos integrated into the book. Instead of looking at a picture in the book, you could watch a short video, and then continue on reading.
I wish we could all sit down and have dinner with you David, too bad I live in Calgary

keep the posts coming!

Elizabeth M.

I think there will always be a nice market for the printed book. Look at vinyl for music. It was supposed to be dead and buried now but it has it’s fans. The same will happen with the printed book. I know a digital book would be nowhere near as fun to curl up in bed with as an actual paper book is. I’ll definitely be that person with a good old fashioned book in my hands.

Uggh that should have read “niche market” not “nice market”.

Darn I was all ready to agree with Kat until I read Chris’s post. Regional versions you say? (I’ll assume you meant digital) Hmmm okay so there may be some benefit to the dreaded digital reader after all. They’ll still have to drag me kicking and scratching though. As for the environment, let’s face it if readers really cared there would be much greater use of the public library or at least second hand book stores. As for marketing, why release a full book in PDF when you can wet the appetite with a couple of chapters?

Oh well the world is changing and like it or not I’m along for the ride. I guess I had better get ready for a lot of nights out too considering the amount I read.

The future of all media lies with the next generation.

Although I do download a track here and there, I still like to buy CD’s. There is something captivating when I read through the booklet, to have a physical copy in my hands. Kids are content with a file on their iPod and a link to a website.

When I download a .pdf e-book that really grabs my attention, I often print a hard copy. The file is a delivery method, not an alternative to paper.

Today’s youth are growing up in a world where texting, twittering, and file sharing aren’t revolutionary concepts, they are part of their everyday lives.

When a digital reader has the saturation of an iPod, my generation will surely be interested and adapt…to a degree. We still will buy books as well as digital files. The next generation, however, will have grown up in an era where digital readers are as common as today’s iPod, and for them it will be ‘no big deal’.

I know it’s fighting the future but I’ll never be willing to give up my ‘old fashioned’ paper & hard cover books. There’s something so perfect about them that, for me anyway, no matter how many features the digital books come out with I still wouldn’t view it as a replacement.
I like to hope that people who have a passion for books, like collectors & people with libraries they’re proud of, will keep at least a small market alive for paper bound books.
Unlike some, I collect books that I love, that I’ll read over & over again, for that reason my library is very precious to me. I can’t imagine the same feeling arising from sitting down with a digital reader browsing through lists as I get from standing in front of my bookshelf perusing the spines of all my favorite stories deciding which one to pick up next. I don’t see how that could be recreated.
I agree with the last post, that our generation might split our reading between digital & the traditional book. It would more likely be in the future generations where books will become a rarity more for collector purposes.
I realize there are a lot of strong arguments in favor of the digital revolution in books, but I just can’t see that replacing sitting down in your favorite chair with your favorite book in your lap… paper pages and all.

As a worker for a school in a bibliothèque (i’m a library technician). I don’t believe on virtual book at all. Who like to read on a computer? Not me, not at all.

Remember a nice day on vacation, on a trip on the beach with your ”paper”book. This book mean alot to you, a virtual book, does it will bring good souvenirs of your trip. Not at all. Remember reading a real book to your children before they are going to bed… When i remember all does memories it makes me happy and enjoy the books.

I truly believe in paper book. Of course, the virtual one will come one day but will it replace the real one. No, never. I’m sure. We will always needs paper books for schools, librairies…

Nathalie

I am in the minority here but I am not married to the idea of the traditional paper book. I’m a modernist and a realist. Books are big and bulky and awkward most of the time… unless you crack the spine repeatedly, you have to prop them open to read and they are apt to shut on you when least expected.

I would be thrilled with a little reading gadget and would be first in line if a decent one existed. But i think there is a good reason why it doesnt. In this computer age, we spend enough of our time staring at a screen, getting eye strain, and I really dont think people want to do this for long periods to relax. Books serve as an escape from this!

That being said, if said device did exist and catch on, I think readers would increasingly seek the concrete experience. I could forsee the top authors touring and doing readings/discussion groups. As for the little guy, without their “1000 true fans” they would likely be struggling. Maybe they would embrace the free concept but start charging for product placement in their writings? Or have to include ads in their “free” books?

I hope…and think that we still have the power to decide if it will be. in 5 years, newspapers and books will still be a part of us and our society if we do that choice. Today, each of us can choose what kind of media is The Media…do we’ll let die what made us who and where we are actually…Or maybe it will be like music. I can listen it on cd, mp3, ipod etc…but sometimes it’s funny to listen old vinyl on a old turning table…who knows?

Will I be at the cafe with a paperback in 5 years? Honestly, I have no idea. With the pace technology is developing (I won’t use the word advancing), I think it’s difficult to know what I’ll be doing in 5 months sometimes let alone 5 years. For example, I was already to go out and by a HD TV and then I read about laser TV’s coming out in the fall that could have a picture that is much better than plasma or lcd. I had no idea they could use lasers to light up a TV.

So I really don’t know. My guess is that there will be books in hard copy and in digital form, like now, their will be choices and you will pay accordingly. However, like now, you will be able to purchase much more content in digital form at a cheaper price and way more of it smallish packaged ie. 10,000 books on a digital reader sort of thing. You’ll be able to print out the book from the digital reader if you want and in a bound format that will approximate the book as we know it today (this can already be done I think).

As said above, it is the young generation that will drive things here although a lot of the baby boomers will be retiring and some of them will have a fair bit of money, and time, to fool around with. Who knows, but in the meantime, give me my TV, my stero system, my books - but most definitely my beer please!

PS. Notice I didn’t say my computer but when I retire and can’t use one at work, I might have to splurge for one, or go to the library and use it. Thank goodness for libraries!!

I’m the youngest writer in a workshop of professional novelists by many years and, while this is a topic that comes up a lot in our discussions, I’m consistently the only one ready to admit that traditional book publishing is going the way of the of the dinosaur. It’s hard enough getting a book published as it is. Anyone not willing to adapt won’t stand a chance of having their manuscript read. Ever. By anyone.

Digital books on some kind of Reader (like the Kindle) are the most logical solution to the fast-moving, light-weight digital revolution. Imagine college students carrying one Reader, versus breaking their backs with armloads of heavy text books. It’s fantastic. And, as a writer, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get my books in front of people, being read – digital, paperbound or otherwise.

I don’t know if the debate is digital versus paper. There will, I believe, always be a market for both. And, just as CDs are still in existence after the MP3 boom, there will always been the print-bound book for those who want it – even if only in limited numbers.

Instead, I think the problem comes resides in the marketing. Books and music are very different in one BIG way, David - -

While musicians might be able to suffer the blow of their songs being handed out for “free” (the trade-off being that it’s earned them new fans that will buy tickets to concerts)… as writers, we do not have that option. All we have is the story itself. If our product is free, we’re up shit creek for a way to make any REAL income off our craft.

So: Yes, digital rocks. Yes, free copies for a limited time might work, if it can be controlled. No, it’s not quite the same as music… Publishers need to keep looking for new ways to keep up with the digital revolution.

I love having all my music in a digital form and only buy cds for a few of my favourite artists, but I very much doubt I’ll convert to digital readers. I read many books a year and move home often enough to be fully aware of the problems of moving a large mass of books, but staring a screen is not what the experience of reading is all about to me. Sure, a digital reader for reference purposes would be great, but we’re talking here about the affect on novelists.

One of the great things about MP3 players is that you have your whole music collection with you so you can listen to whatever you’re in the mood to listen to, but how many of us have dozens of novels we’re partway through, and want to have several with us in case we feel like reading something else? I strongly agree with the comments on the feel of a book and the eyestrain from staring at a screen all the time. Another advantage of MP3 players is their small size compared to cd players/walkmans etc. A digital reader would have to be large enough to avoid excessive scrolling (more eyestrain) and so would still not be much more portable than a book.

It’s inevitable that future generations will increasingly embrace all forms of digital media but, for novels, at least, I think the advantages of digital are still slight, and the pace of change will be slow.

Personally, I think a greater threat to the future of books is that kids brought up in the digital age would often rather watch videos, surf the net or play a game on their Wii than read, and I don’t think presenting books in a digital format will do anything to reverse that trend.

As for the cutting down of trees to make books argument, books are a carbon store just as much as trees. The trees that are cut down for books are replaced, unlike the fossil fuels typically used to generate electricity.

This was only going to be a short comment

Thanks for covering this question, David. If you walked into a cafe in 5 years where I was reading my paperback book, I would definitely put it down for you! I’d rather have dinner sooner than later though…LOL. Let’s see, Montreal,mid-July? Hey..hey?

As I said before, I believe there is room and necessity for both forms of the Biblio. When I don’t want to spend hours reading on the computer, I just print it out anyway. I would be willing to pay a fee for the full book for sure. Certainly digital books will be in the way of the iphone, making it easy for even the technically challenged to adapt. I’m just not certain it should be the only option. Over time, if it is tested positively, then people will adapt accordingly. But it must be a natural progression rather than a forced one.

On another note, my son just sent his grandmother a letter. Not an E-mail, but a hand-written letter. It was the funniest letter and she now has it displayed on her fridge. What’s more personal than something that is handwritten? I have a set list from the Regina show you did last year…it’s only typed. I tried to get the handwritten one but someone snagged it. I guess I was trying to be polite and was waiting for a sign that it was okay. Jonathan was nice enough to replace it for me…which I was thankful for…still, the handwritten one would have meant more. I did get your sig on the Strange Birds cd though, so all’s not lost

My point is that will handwriting eventually be a skill that we lose completely? Will we be writing with a stylus on the computer or will that be a thing of the past as well? Does all this technology make our life easier or does it complicate it. I’d rather write something down quickly than wait for my computer to boot up….DVD’s…don’t even get me started. I’ll take a video over a DVD anyday in terms of expediency (except in the car). Have you ever tried to get past all the trailers to get to the damn movie? Then the remote doesn’t work..the DVD doesn’t load properly..aaarrrgh! What’s supposed to be easier ends up more complicated! But, that’s a metaphor for life XO

Off topic,
A quote one of my mentors read to me last week:

“Success comes from making good judgments. We make good judgments through experience. Experience comes from making bad judgments.”

Thought that was something to ponder.

Perhaps I am still old school too. I don’t think I can quite get used to the idea of reading on PDF or digital format or even listening to audio books. However, I have to say, I used to feel weird writing my poetry on the computer, but now it seems like that’s the first entry point, though I still handwrite them down in my journals at the end of the day.

It’s true that the experience of music can’t be totally replaced because of live music, and what about books? Well, I’m not sure for other genre, but I think for poetry, there’s still that element of poetry read out loud, that could never be replaced too. If you’ve ever been to an open mic or spoken word performance, it’s quite exhilirating to watch the poets read. I don’t think that can ever be replaced, not even through mp3. Same can be said for print books for other genre. There’s nothing like laying in bed and reading a good book or over coffee at a cafe. It’s so much more relaxing and the computer or digital file can’t replace that. An LCD screen does have some numbing/hypnotic element to the mind that’s not only dull but also cause physical tension after a while.

I’ve been pondering upon this much since yesterday also, even went to the public library with my children and I’m sure that a simple solution is waiting in a corner for us all to grab it and should because I really love the feel of flipping every page or the frustration when you drop your book and need to find the page you where at and my precious dictionaries, I really can’t envision myself reading from a plastic and metal devise five years from now and I’ve been know to have quite an imagination… You know David, I’m very glad that you have decided to share your intelligence with the world it is a precious gift that I’m really grateful for.

I will always buy some books in old-fashioned book form, whether hardcover or softcover. When the killer high-tech reader comes out, probably with lots of enhancements included with the books, I will probably buy that too. I love a beautifully thought-out gadget that is genuinely useful and beautiful and designed for the user’s experience (not the programmer’s!). That’s why I love my iPod and my Apple laptop and my iMac.

But, screens are hard on the eyes, especially when you’ve spent all day working on them one way or another. In fact, because my work is so visually-based, I enjoy buying some books in audio form just to give my eyes a rest, and whether I’m buying those for an iPod or a book-reading gadget doesn’t much matter to me.

Some books are so important to me that I experience them first in audio form, then get the print version to re-read and note down my favourite quotations and so on.

The book as an object is a special thing that a certain percentage of the population will always prefer. Arguably the ascent of digital books would require that print books become even more special, which will be hard on people like me with limited budgets

I am similar about music: I buy a lot of digital albums, but I also like owning the physical CD, so sometimes I choose to purchase them in that form. My niece definitely prefers CDs to digital, though she plays them on her iPod anyway, and my nephew buys both ways.

Now that digital music production makes it possible for an artist like you to take control, I think that also means you can respond to a changing environment much better than a big music company can. Similarly, there is now print-on-demand technology for books, which means no need for warehouses, no need for lots of capital to risk on printing a set number without knowing if anyone will buy it. It is now possible for people to self-publish with professional results (in the physical product at least, if not the content!), and sell on consignment at the bookstores and through Amazon.

It comes at a good time because publishing houses take on fewer and fewer authors it seems, but lots of people have at least one book in them, and there are many outstanding writers without a publisher or with an inadequate one, so the possibility of being able to take control oneself changes the balance a little, in a good way.

Thanks for starting this blog. I think about this issues a lot myself, as a visual artist, faced with networking through Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, having images on Facebook, Flickr and developing my own web site. There have been high-profile instances of Canadian artists’ works getting stolen online by some company in China, who then hires artists there to copy the paintings (they’re quite brilliant at that, if you’d like say, the Mona Lisa for your livingroom, in whatever size, with maybe a colour adjustment to match your sofa!) and sells those. Some artists believe that is a reason not to have their images online. My response is I do what I can to protect myself, but I’d have to be crazy not to be online, if my goal is to get eyeballs in front of my art, with all the good things that can lead to…

Your questions have raised another issue…

I just followed the links that you have provided and ended up on a web site (scribd) where you can upload/download .pfd files for sharing.

On this site, I saw work of unknown authors who want to publish for free, which I think can be good for them, to get known.

But I also saw copies of books which are still copyrighted and which should not be available ‘for free’. Copyright lasts 50 years after the death of an author, if my memory is good. And it can (and will) be defended in court eventually (remember the Napster case).

I do hope that, in time, people will wake up and realize the value of the work of the artists/writers and will start paying for it. Everything online can’t be free. IP law is there to protect creative work, but creators also have to find ways to protect it.

Certainly sharing a book online is a risky business, because in such a case can the author still claim that he holds a copyright on his work? If yes, to what extent, if not explicitly written on the face of the document?

Many questions raised and we will have to wait and see how all this evolves.

In the meantime, I still like to buy paper books and albums. I bought most of yours, David, all at once, one day on Amazon…

Although everyone has brought up some good points, I’m still hanging on to my printed media. I have a ton of books in my home and although they’re a pain to pack and move, I love them. Some are first editions and I even own some precious signed copies of my favourite books. You can’t get an autographed edition on a digital reader.

@Kat
no but…:)

“Invented by acclaimed author Margaret Atwood, LongPen™ is the world’s first long distance, real pen and ink signing device - perfect for connecting writers, athletes, and musicians with their fans.”

http://www.longpen.com/

When I woke up, listening to music as I usually do (love me back to life by Corneille was playing), suddenly I had two loop holes in my mind David!!! Alright, to awaken children’s senses we need colour, texture, the real deal. If everything is electronic and insipid then the children of the future risk failing the development of some very artistic parts of their brains. Secondly, if you drop your book (not in the rain of course), a hope remains to eventually find your page, if not you start over; if you drop the device, no matter how hard the try to make it shock proof something always happens to crystal liquid, all depending on the weather and so many different things. Can you imagine loosing your entire library in a flash? If your physical library catches on fire, the firemen can hurry and save some; they can do nothing for an electronic device. How exactly does one calculate the added value day by day of the books in the device? Have a great day David!!! Bren.

LongPen™ eh? Simple but I never would have thought of it. How is it I’m younger than David but often manage to feel rather old when reading this blog? All very interesting though. Thank you.

@David - Wow. LongPen is an amazing idea and I like it, but I still want my book.

I find the whole idea of having various forms of art, including books, available online interesting. I mean, maybe it’s a common thing for musicians like David to share work-in-progress online (I don’t know as I don’t follow any other musicians’ websites). But I’ve often wondered “Isn’t David worried about people ripping off his work?”. I thought that if it wasn’t “completed” yet then it couldn’t be copyrighted yet, but I could very well be mistaken about that.

I know I’m being very old-school here, but I don’t see myself giving up books. As others have said, watching a screen can be hard on the eyes (especially if you already sit in front of a computer for most of your work day). And I like taking books with me on vacation, to the beach, and also like to read in bed sometimes…just wouldn’t be the same reading from an electronic device.

Maybe it’s just that I’m not into all the latest tech stuff. I don’t download music, but prefer to buy CDs. I do load music from my CDs onto my MP3 player for use at the gym, but I like owning the actual CDs and being able to flip through the liner notes.

As for the LongPen thing…I’d read about it but hadn’t seen it in action until I watched that link. Very cool concept and great for allowing artists to interact with their fans. But as someone who has been guilty of bothering David for several autographs of my CDs in the past, I have to say that I just don’t think it would feel the same as the “real thing”. (Having said that, I do realize that it’s not always possible for artists to give in-person autographs, nor will they always want to, so I do feel very fortunate to have experienced that. And a LongPen autograph/interaction would certainly be better than nothing at all).

As I say, Always be prepared! David, I got your autograph at the end of your live show DURING St. Lawrence River! I had my sharpie and the cd liner notes ready…I loved it when others wanted you to sign and you said “I don’t have a pen”…with a shrug and a smile:-) Like you carry a pen on you at all times! C’mon people! Meeting you would have been even better; longpen…sounds cool too, and A “Hi” is always nice ! XO

in some case e-books are really convenient - to exchanging. I have lots of e-books, but what is a strange deal- I still wish to have them in a traditional hard- or paperback! a few copy to give to my friends…one day
The futurists are always imagine that after N- years ago, we will wear silver-space clothes, fly in gravitation-less-cars or read o n l y ebooks and blah blah. Like in “Le future” concept-stores is considered that designers ideas has reached the future - nonsense! They reached only the t o d a y, the future hasn’t come still! In fact, many of futurist’s ideas are not in use and can’t adapt in the routine. Maybe cause in “smart-digital” things we lose half of pleasure?.. so much part of our life-way. And we ready to pay for it and free some space in our home and heart. yeah, really like in a vinyl story.
P. S. and it was proven one more time last weekend by my friend who is out of this “on-line - discussion”, said to me at the theatre that TV- or E-version can never replace the real atmosphere!

I’ve published two books in the past two years and have sold next to nothing. The problem is that while everyone in world can self-publish there are few people who can support the exhaustive and expensive effort necessary to make it a success.

The other problem is: what can you put in a book that isn’t available in spades with a google? his does not effect evey type of book out there but it impacts one type mainly - factual information.

Books
“The Best of Astraea - 17 Articles on Science, History and Philosophy”

“Owlcat - The Cat Who Thought He Was An Owl” (illustrated by 12 year old daughter!)

Steve