eBooks Vs Printed Books – Let the battle commence

With the launch of various new e-book readers in the run up to Christmas, the debate over the future of the printed book has intensified. Will the printed book go the way of the CD and hit a slippery slope into obscurity? Or will it remain the number one way in which we consume pieces of literature?

I have heard many strong emotional arguments, from avid book readers, as to why e-books will never replace printed books:

• I like to collect books and keep them on my book shelf for reference
• I like having a physical book in my hand
• I could easily lose the digital copy if my computer breaks
• I can’t share digital books

But wait a second… this sounds surprisingly familiar… I am sure I have heard this before. Oh yes that’s right… these same arguments were made when the Ipod burst onto the scene. Music fans around the world could be heard screaming:

• I like to collect the CDs
• I like to be able to look at the cover art
• I could lose the digital copy
• I can’t share digital songs. I like to share my music

So does this mean that the book will go the way of the CD? Well at first glance it would seem so. Especially if you consider that CDs actually had one clear advantage over MP3’s in that they were better quality, printed  books don’t even have that going for them.

However, there is one massive difference between music and books, one difference that is so simple it seems to have been missed by all the commentators I have heard so far. The simple reason is that most people only read one book at a time.

The advantage of the Ipod was that depending on my mood at any given moment I had access to a wide variety of songs. If I was to carry around all the music I might need in one day, I would have to carry a suitcase full of CDs. That was the main problem the Ipod solved.

The eBook simply does not solve this problem. People don’t sit on the tube and think, “Oh god I would love to read the opening line of ‘A tale of two cities’ right now”. As a result I can not see why anyone would buy one, unless they are the sort of person who reads a lot of books at once.

In my opinion the printed book will put up a much braver fight than the CD ever did. The eBook is more likely to be pushed by the supply side than the demand side as publishers realise the savings they can make from not having to print a physical book.

So you can hold off from burning your books for now… I think they will be around a lot longer than some people would expect.