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This is fascinating, as are most things on MR. As few as 10 years ago, you heard about a book from a friend, or by reading something else. You stopped by the book store, waited for the "research" clerk to be free, at which point they told you they didn't have the book, but they could order it, and you could pick it up in 3 days. But it was Thursday, and you wouldn't be downtown on Saturday, so you wouldn't get the book until next week. This very scenario happened to me countless times before my kindle. It seemed they didn't want me to read the book! And it was very likely something else would catch my eye when I was in the bookstore, or the library would call with some of my holds, and I wouldn't get that book anyway.
If you think back, as little as 10 years ago, life was very different. When we went on our ski vacation, we always made a trip to the bookstore in advance, and I packed 5-10 paperbacks in my suitcase. I have a (decorative) bin next to my bed, and it used to be full of paperbacks I meant to read. Now it has magazines. I was one of those voracious readers that probably spent $500-$1000 a year on books (I buy a lot of knitting books, as well). Now I am at $50-$100, and they are all knitting books.
Now, the publishers can get some short term profit by publishing stuff like 50 Shades, and get people that really aren't readers. But buying that book doesn't turn you into a reader, and you are unlikely to buy the next big book. Readers (with a capital R) are the ones that asked for the special orders, and laid out money for books that weren't 25% off because they were on the best seller list.
I have less than a decade left in my career, but if I were younger the new AI robots that are being introduced to do legal tasks would really concern me. If I were in publishing, I would be downright panicked.
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