Its easy, I think, to say that the days of paper books are numbered, but I think in practice, paper books, like CDs in music, will be with us for some time.
Paper books have more qualities than simply the stories, ideas and arguments that they contain. For many book lovers, they are also a way to project to the outside world, who we are. You can often tell a lot about a book lover by looking at their book shelves; what ideas inspire them, what authors excite them, or who are regarded as old friends (The latter being indicated by books that have obviously been read over and over again). Likewise, the book you are carrying invites conversation from others who might be interested in similar books.
That being said, I personally believe that certain formats of paper book could indeed be threatened by the e-book. The hardback I think is safe; it is often used as much for decoration as for reading material; there is also a weight to it that no ebook reader is likely to emulate. In contrast, the mass market paperback is, I believe, ultimately are doomed. Many of these books never survived more than a few readings and often were filled with the guilty (or not so guilty depending
pleasures of their readers. Romance, Science Fiction, Mystery, other genres that depend on paperback for the bulk of their sales will likely lead the way.
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Bill