“This is the funeral pyre for thought in America today,” said Tom Wayne as he set fire to dozens of books outside of his Kansas City bookstore, Prospero’s Books. Wayne, however, wasn’t burning books to destroy the knowledge contained within them. He chose to desecrate dozens of books as a protest against “society’s diminishing support for the printed word.”
As a format, the book is becoming less and less popular in the modern world. The arrival of the Internet, and the boom that is Web 2.0, has provided citizens with access to dozens of new types of reading materials. Blogs, eBooks, online newspapers, and more provide the casual reader with access to more than enough information, leading to a significant drop in the number of adults who read books for pleasure.
Print, Meet Digital
But is Wayne right? Is America, as a society, finished reading books? The format itself is more alive than ever. The
printed word, however, may very well be on its way out. Newspapers and magazines are finding it increasingly important to build a web presence. Titans of “Old Media,” such as Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., are building web presences. Books, too, are finding more of a home on the Internet. Sony’s helping to digitize books and reading materials with their innovative Sony Reader. Google and Amazon have showed off Google Books and “Search Inside the Book,” two services that make it ever easier for users to both read, and analyze books.
The Change
At this stage, the future of books remains to be seen. While society is seeing a large transformation from the physical written word to the intangible word, we’re seeing an increased output. Today, the web doesn’t just make it easier to read, it makes it easier to write. The millions of blogs on the Internet no doubt have spurned a new generation of readers and writers. Those that write, seeking to find readers for their content, peruse other blogs as well. As previously mentioned, newspapers like the New York Times finally see increased value in the Internet. The majority of their content is online, and an easy to use newspaper-like interface, for those who prefer it, is available. Zinio Reader also makes it easy for users to download magazines, or have them pushed, to their desktops for easy reading. While it might be difficult to read from a computer screen, it’s occupying more and more of our time.
That’s not a bad thing. It has, however, changed the way we focus our attention, and the way we perceive a piece of writing. The nature of the Internet lends itself to shorter entries, not lengthy text entries. While the previously mentioned Zinio Reader helps to mimic the feel of a real magazine on a computer, and Sony’s Reader is rather similar to a book, consumers won’t see something as easy to read as a physical book or a magazine for years to come. Wired Magazine covered the “snack culture” in a previous issue, explaining that society has come to expect short snippets of text and entertainment, as opposed to the lengthier features we find in commercial productions like feature films and books.
Digital, Meet Print
For those still interested in reading books, however, the web has made that easier as well. Sites like LibraryThing and 
Shelfari give users an unprecedented set of tools to use in their quest for the perfect book. Now, with a single click, users can access reviews, analysis, book information, and more. In addition, they can talk about the book with friends and other website participants, making the necessity of proximity a thing of the past for those looking to form book groups. The new services also seek to replace librarians. Along with Amazon’s backend for book recommendations, the two new services hope to provide suggestions to users on books they might like by utilizing the books they list in their profile. Do librarians know of every book you’ve liked and disliked? I doubt it.
Conclusion
The change has already been initiated. Thousands of individuals rarely pick up books anymore, trading the heavy, physical medium for something accessible everywhere and any time: the Internet. Those without experience on the Internet will protest the day when readers banish books to a dark corner of their rooms, but I, for one, will applaud that day, for it will herald the arrival of a new era; one where people both contribute their literary works and read the works of others with a higher frequency than ever before.
I am willing to bet that Tom Wayne doesn’t have a lot of the kind of books his customers want. When I ran a bookstore, we carried lots of books that appealed to men as well as women, and sold huge numbers of books that you could not even find in a regular bookstore. Examples: Chilton car repair manuals - we always had a huge selection so that people could find exactly the right one; books on old tractors and muscle cars, including how to repair and restore them; etc. Since Tom’s site doesn’t have a search function (how 1996), I can’t tell if his store is something worth visiting.
The demise of books? Don’t hold your breath. This subject has been treated with much more cogency and depth by - you guessed it - a book: Nicholas Basbanes’ A Splendor of Letters: The Permanence of Books in an Impermanent World. The death of books has been predicted ever since the advent of the internet; funnily enough, books are still very much alive and kicking. Basbanes makes the convincing case that technology and the printed word are not mutual substitutes. TV didn’t kill books, nor radio. Computer-based display technologies won’t kill the printed word either. Typing my comments in this silly light colored font is eye straining enough. Don’t ask me to read from a screen, which is a completely different tactile experience from reading a book.
Have to agree with Anon here. While I think the book business has certainly taken a hit to those who are now consuming a lot of their “reading time” online, it has also been diversified on the web as well (as you mention). However, I still know of tons of people who love to read book and I am one of them. Books aren’t going anywhere for a while but I would agree, I certainly do not look at it as a growth market.
I think all make valid points, and that was the point of this article — to spark discussion.
Here’s what I think. With the rise of the ‘digital’ century (which terms anything from PDAs to computers to the Internet), a lot of deaths have been predicted — as Annon mentions — radio, television, newspapers, and now books are only some of them. This hasn’t happened yet, and I’m sure unless we see a major advancement — for example, the typewriter -> word processor — it isn’t going to happen.
That said, I do eventually beleive in a matter of time, by the way things have been going, we’re going to become digital — whether that’s in 20 years or 200 years. Unlike the typewriter, this change won’t happen overnight. Using MP3 and CD players as an analogy, for example, it’s a small thing we’ve all accustomed slowly in our everyday lives. As the older generation fades away, so do their habits and preferences — that is, in this case, ‘anologue’ and ‘traditional’ (e.g. cassette players, radios, newspapers, books etc.) And as a consequence, as a new generation rises, ‘digital’ and ‘new’ forms of media arise (e.g. iPods, Last.fm, New York Times Online, books on Sony Reader).
[...] of Books? Not for a while. This morning I read the piece, Opinion/Analysis: Books? What Books?, by Zach Simms at Rev2.org, regarding the impending demise of books. While I don’t disagree [...]
[...] Zach Sims thinks it will: [...]
Will newspapers and magazines fade away due to declining readership, certainly. Only a fool will lay out hard earned money for a rehash of the same article he saw on Drudge three days previously. When it comes to fiction or non-fiction however, industry sales figures may not be that good a measure of readership.
Every weekend, tens of thousands of books, both hard and soft cover are recycled through garage sales from coast to coast. Like newspapers of old, and college texts of any generation, most books these days go through multiple sets of hands. Think National Geographic - millions of readers, but only Doctors subscribe. Until we come up with a better set of measurements, I would not be so quick to proclaim the death knell.
[...] Zach Sims looks forward to the end of books. [...]
[...] - and of libraries. Steven Cohen from Library Stuff pointed me to an article by Zach Sims - titled Books? What Books? The article itself is fairly interesting - and the author makes some good points. He writes: Is [...]
Oh yeah..the great equalizer..i.e., the NET..so we’ll all get to read the turgid meanderings of the unwashed who can bearly read much less write..I am really excited about this..
Thank you all for your comments. I think it’s worth noting that I am still an avid reader of books, and while I think interest in the medium itself is decreasing, I think it will still maintain relevancy in the years to come. The printed word provides something that many sources on the internet do not: credibility. Accordingly, those who publish books are credited more than those who write for blogs or online magazines.
What I was attempting to highlight, however, is that the majority of society is reading less. Studies like the one showcased here show that reading is becoming less and less popular for Americans. Most startling is the fact that, according to the study, 42% of college students will not pick up a book after they leave school. So much for higher education.
It’s unfortunate that society is leaning this way, because books are, and always have been an important part of our history. But while the forward thinking individuals among us will continue to read books, those with less of an interest in literacy and historical perspective will spend more of their reading time online.
[...] November 5, Google revealed its plans to the world. Instead of spearheading the initiative alone, Google formed the Open Handset Alliance, a group of [...]