MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Is Publishing Doomed? JOHN B. THOMPSON with Williams Cole

dacattt · 11-15-2010, 07:03 PM

I think he only partially gets it. He's pull out the facts, but I do feel like challenging his analysis.

At the end, he dances around this issue of book vs. e-book: "They cherish the book. And they believe that this is an artifact that they want in their lives. And some of the technological commentators in this industry just completely miss this point. They fail to see that books have this cultural value in the lives of ordinary people which is very deep and very profound and which is not likely to go away very quickly."

And yet he also does state that the US is currently going though "a sea of change". Kind of a 'dah' moment. He misses the connection people have with the stories they read.... not just the books... the story being the stronger connection. Yes, we love the feel and even the smell of our books. But story wins out. Mix in our "great recession" where so many folks are uprooted from homes and downsized, those physical books are having to be abandoned.... and there's an added trauma.

How do we connect back to the stories we love??? And, not loose them again??? The e-book becomes a way to not have to go though that loss again. We loose the physical book, but gain the security of the book ownership (.... which is also why there's such an uproar about DRM.)

So I believe the love of being able to "keep" the book, in any form, is going to trounce the desire to "hold" the book. E-book are the future for the paperback.

Now... we've just got to come up with decent ways for the author to still sign "our copy" of the book. (Baen has figured out the "hardback" want-it-now game with their ARC copies.)

11-15-2010, 07:03 PM	#28
dacattt Connoisseur Posts: 51 Karma: 3102 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Los Angeles Device: Astak 6 EZ Reader Plus	I think he only partially gets it. He's pull out the facts, but I do feel like challenging his analysis. At the end, he dances around this issue of book vs. e-book: "They cherish the book. And they believe that this is an artifact that they want in their lives. And some of the technological commentators in this industry just completely miss this point. They fail to see that books have this cultural value in the lives of ordinary people which is very deep and very profound and which is not likely to go away very quickly." And yet he also does state that the US is currently going though "a sea of change". Kind of a 'dah' moment. He misses the connection people have with the stories they read.... not just the books... the story being the stronger connection. Yes, we love the feel and even the smell of our books. But story wins out. Mix in our "great recession" where so many folks are uprooted from homes and downsized, those physical books are having to be abandoned.... and there's an added trauma. How do we connect back to the stories we love??? And, not loose them again??? The e-book becomes a way to not have to go though that loss again. We loose the physical book, but gain the security of the book ownership (.... which is also why there's such an uproar about DRM.) So I believe the love of being able to "keep" the book, in any form, is going to trounce the desire to "hold" the book. E-book are the future for the paperback. Now... we've just got to come up with decent ways for the author to still sign "our copy" of the book. (Baen has figured out the "hardback" want-it-now game with their ARC copies.)