· Do you think that books are a thing of the past?

Answer 1

Absolutely not. Books may have become more of an aristocratic thing as they once were, but those who truly love to read and appreciate the asthetics of books will never solely rely on any other source of information.

Answer 2

As long as we have writers, poets, philosophers, etc. there will always be books. Even today we constantly rely upon written scriptures, plays, and novels from the past-- books are timeless, and hopefully their production will never be ceased. So many countries have “banned book lists” or specific genres or titles that are forbidden to be read, purchased, or distributed in various regions for political, religious, and cultural reasons. Here in the U.S., however, for the most part, books are widely abundant and available to the masses, so it would be such a shame to see books go eventually disappear. With the end of books would ultimately come a downfall in human intelligence as they provide the human mind with such a positive experience. So m any books are available online or by audio nowadays, but nothing beats the true thrill and experience of sitting down and reading an interesting book whenever you feel like it.

Answer 3

No, books are still very important to us. Look at the numbers printed everyday. There's something comforting about holding a book in your hands and turning the pages when you come to the end of each page. And as long as you've got a light source (book light, lamp, overhead light, sunlight), you can read virtually anywhere at virtually any time (all except sunlight do requrie power that you could loose in the middle of a blackout).

Then there are e-books, but they have bigger drawbacks than regular books. For one, you need some kind of reader, either a computer with a reading program, or a hand-held e-book reader. Then you need electricity, and that means either an AC plug-in or batteries. Batteries are better becuse you don't have to remain in an area near the outlet to keep reading, and if you get a blackout you don't need to worry. But if your batteries die in the middle of a blackout, your out of luck for reading the e-book. Reading a screen for too long isn't good for your eyes, and it's even less so in the dark. Then there's the fact that scrolling, wherether it be a button that says next page (or just next) or a scroll bar, doesn't offer the same comforting feel as actually turning a page.

Of course there's audiobooks. Great things to have when you're in a position where you can't actually read the book. I find these usually to be either when one is driving or when one is going to sleep and their setting something to listen to as the drop off. But the biggest drawback is that audiobooks are usually abridged, which means that unless you've read the book you have no idea how badly abridged the audiobook really is. Maybe it's just 15% of the book is missing, or it could be better than half the book. You won't know unless you read it.

Do I own e-books and listen to audiobooks? Yes. Most of my e-books are donwloads which I could easily print out for a much more relaxing time with them. Most are also books that are no longer in print and getting them in e-book format was the only way I could get them. And the suggestions I gave on places and times to listen to e-books comes from personal experince. The idea of over half a book being missing in an abrigded audiobook also comes from personal experince. Do I recommend them over traditional books? No, they have their places, but not as replacements for traditional reading.

Answer 4

Book printing is a great technology. If I take my book to the beach and it falls in the water or is stolen, I'm not out very much month compared to if I took the PDA that I use for reading e-books.

It is possible now to print books using print-on-demand so that a book that only 100 people will want to read can be printed for them at a reasonable cost. I think books are here to stay until there is an e-reader that is equally cheap and convenient. Even then, I think that while books as objects will become rare, people will still read texts. A story that you read is much more thoroughly *yours* than a movie you just watched, and even if more and more people become non-readers (as seems to be happening), there will always be people who appreciate the special pleasures of reading and imagining at their own pace.

Answer 5

We Americans take books for granted. I met a guy from South Africa who told me that books were incredibly rare and in extremely high demand, especially college level technical books.

This will eventually progress through the years. Books will become rare gems that people seek on the black market. It is already happening to some extent through Amazon and EBay.

If books are only produced on demand, as someone suggested above, the rarity of books increases. Overprinting would cause a surplus and more availability. This is no longer the case.

As a side note, nothing looks better in a home than a few walls of bookshelves lined with many good books.

Answer 6

Absolutely not.

A computer (even laptops) are too bulky, and It's difficult to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and a great novel on the computer because it takes up too much room.

Also the following reasons:

• I cannot write all over it like I can a book
• Cannot lend it out with all the good parts underlined
• Cannot put a paper bookmark in it to mark my place
• Cannot borrow it for free from the library
• Cannot stick it in my back pocket or purse
• Do not worry if it is stolen

A book neither crashes nor loses power.

Besides, it would cost me a slight fortune to replace my computer, but not so to replace a paperback.

I prefer books to reading the screen. After a while I have to stop because my eyes begin to go buggy, and I have a terrific headache!!! .....not so with a book

Answer 7

Definately not! How could you even think such a thing? When you pick up a new book to read, and it has that new book smell (or even the old-second-hand-book smell), there's nothing better in the world. Why would you think books are a thing of the past????? Have you seen how many bookshops there are around? And how many people are in the bookshops?

Answer 8

NO!
Nothing can ever replace the experience of reading a book. Even though you can now read a lot of books on line, there is something missing there. It's not the same. You don't have the same feeling of escaping into the world created by the author and imagined by you alone while standing in front of a computer screen!

Answer 9

No way! There are many good books out of all genres and all types and they are really good. Even though they may seem a thing of the past to young people they are an old pastime and everyone should respect that. I think that one should treasure all books, they are what we should respect and keep, not stuff them in out bags and let them rot, but read them and keep them.

Answer 10

I hope not! Have you heard about that guy who owned the bookstore and tried to donate all of those books to schools, libraries, etc. though? He had tons of extra books to donate, and none of the places he tried to give them to would accept them. They said they didn't have room for them or something. He burned the books to protest the way he was treated. I hope that is not a sign of things to come. Had I known, I would have taken some free books! Ha Ha!