Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
But can you show that the number of books printed is reduced by even one, as a result of you buying an eBook reader? One might play "devil's advocate" and say that eBook readers are a bad thing, in that they produce additional environmental pollution, while having no material benefit whatsoever in terms of reducing the number of printed books produced.
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Every technological leap, from Gutenberg up until today, has lowered the price of the medium, hence widened the audience, and in the end resulted in the net INCREASE of the circulation.
The individual price per copy simply has to come down, but the volume will go up.
Although my mother tongue is obviously not English, I simply have to acknowledge how rapidly that language is becoming "Lingua Franca" of our civilization. It is not all for good, the globalization itself is wiping out precious variety, but it is happening.
Ebook, especially one written in English, has global reach, by its very nature. Every copy delivered electronically is one paperback copy less. The only sure thing is that our consumption will go up, simply because there is more and more of us every day.