[Falbe Publishing]

One thing that I like about ebooks is that I can now look forward to less clutter of cheap books around my house. Although most of my mass market paperbacks provided me with excellent, sometimes cherished, entertainment, they for the most part become borderline junk after reading. They look a bit raggedy and they have no value except for dumping off at a thrift store. (Exception: my beloved little Doctor Who paperbacks that I've been carting around the continent since my preteens.)

Mass market paperbacks could hardly be labeled as a durable product. They are a nearly disposable medium. So, I'm speculating that as more readers get some sort of reading gadget, then ebooks will become the affordable form for consuming entertainment and information that you do not necessarily want or need to store for posterity. Readers will mostly buy ebooks, and their paper book purchases will be in hardcover because they are seeking a more durable item to serve as a keepsake and put on display. For example, I want my hardcover The Lord of the Rings trilogy on my shelf. Also, I have zero desire to replace my cookbooks with digital forms. Cookbooks need to withstand the spray of batter or the spatter of grease.

Right now paperback books serve as the affordable item compared to hardcovers. I think publishing will trend toward ebooks instead of cheapo paperbacks.

This seems logical to me, but I suppose it will be a long painful transition, with some companies doing well and others clinging to their buggy whips.