Today Amazon announced that their ebooks have begun to outsell their paper equivalents. While Amazon is only a chunk of all publication retail, it’s a significant milestone.
I’m not surprised at all. I think every book lover I know (from aspiring writers to avid readers who just like the smell and feel of books) have now all embraced the new format. They may still buy the occasional book as something of a keepsake. They even still like to visit bookstores – something about walking among all the tomes – but they usually just take note and then purchase the ebook.
I’m finally reading my first Kindle book now, and I prefer it, too. I started it right after finishing a 400-500 page bound book that I’ve been toting around for far too long. No contest. And if I’m somewhere where there’s a wait, I can pull out my phone with the Kindle app and read a few pages from the very spot I left off on. I’ve got three books from last Christmas I have yet to read, and I’m half tempted to rebuy them in kindle form. But as much as I’m a techie, I am even more a cheapskate 🙂
What’s cool is that the older demographic isn’t lagging behind in its adoption like you see with other technology. Monday, on the plane next to me, there was a guy in his 60s (probably mid to late). He spent probably an hour scrawling lengthy hand written notes on a yellow legal pad. Then he pulled out his kindle and read for an hour or two. This was no hipster umbilically connected to his laptop, yet using the Kindle came naturally.
Clearly there will be different devices for different purposes and the true shift will happen as more options gain popularity. The iPod did a lot to bring music to the mp3 age, but it’s the ubiquity of player options (from devices like iPods and phones to services like last.fm and Pandora) that really makes the CD industry fade away. The Kindle is the perfect modern day paperback – compact and versatile for any environment, but lacking for graphics and technical docs. Tablets may prove to be the device of choice for textbooks and graphic novels.
Photos, movies, and music have all made the shift away from their physical form. Books have held out the longest, but the writing is on the wall. It makes you wonder how libraries (personal and institutional) are on their way of becoming tomorrow’s obscure record collections.
