A flip side of your request.
Are the Alt= even
descriptive ? You may destroy meaning by deleting images.
I've seen so many that when done are LAME to the point of worthless:
eg "image", "line", "text"
Screen readers USE Alt=
so they should be meaningful descriptive:
Map of World
"Letter 'A' " (when dropcap is image of A)
Mugshot of Author
Your device needs to support (do not show images. Use Alt)
Not being a Book setter, I am not sure what they do for a Scene break (image)
