Can e-books replace paperbacks?

[lmdudley3]

Nothing can replace the feel of a book in your hands. I love my Kindle but I still have my paperbacks.

[Tanaya]

I believe it's inevitable but certainly hope it doesn't happen. Email and drones have been invented and the post office is still in operation, so there must be hope. Right? Right?! I for one wholeheartedly prefer paperbacks. I feel that I already spend more than enough time staring at a screen everyday that reading a good old-fashioned book is a nice departure from the digital world. However, ebooks aren't all bad, especially for my college classes. I like the ability to be able to search for something specific in the text on the computer rather than flipping through the pages until I find it (or using the index, I guess). And at the same time the dictionary being digitized is a tremendous wonder. But fiction is a whole 'nother story. While I don't mind ebooks replacing textbooks and reference books, paperback novels are something I'm not quite ready to depart from!

[obm4ever]

I do not see ebooks replacing paperbooks any day.

[Cee-Jay Aurinko]

I think in the far future, all our books will be electronic.

[crzy4mopars]

I've never been much on E-books, because it always seemed to take something away from the feel of reading. However, recently I found a reading app that I really enjoy even if it still isn't quite the same. E-books in my opinion will never be able to replace paperbacks simply because the appeal of a well bound book that has crisp, fresh pages will forever hold a place in the hearts of book lovers and keep the traditional paperback reading alive and thriving.

[Nicolette98]

I feel e-books are useful and great for taking places however I can't go as far as saying that I would give up physical books for one. I love the feel of turning a page and feeling the paper. I would have a copy of a book in my hands than an e-book. Anyone else agree?

[hilarymay]

I've always had a thing about the feel and smell of real books - yeah, I know!! I like both physical books and e-books. A good thing for me about e-books is being able to enlarge the print as small print is an issue for me. I also like the ease with which I can select and buy books with my kindle. But I'll always love 'real' books. I don't see them being replaced completely. Sharing a 'real' book with a child is also a lovely and beneficial experience - not quite the same to me if the story is on screen or e-reader.

[agapepeople]

I think that the generation born before smartphones came out will have an attachment to books (including myself). I agree that I love the smell, touch and experience of reading from a paperback. Unfortunately, I don't think this will be the case for the future. My nephew is only 1 years old and he's already been exposed to the smartphone (as that's how we communicate over long distance with a camera online). He loves the smartphone now and has watched videos and thumbed through photos on the phone. I don't think he will have an attachment to books like I do.

My generation- books will still be popular. But the next generation? I think they won't care for books like my generation does. Books will eventually become a thing for display rather than for actual reading unfortunately. Just like almost no lawyer today uses those ancient legal bound books. They are only for display- all the actual legal research is done online where it's much more efficient and updated regularly.

[Weevil68]

I like the convenience of my reader, and I mainly use it to try out new authors. But I have loved,and will continue to do so, collecting my favorite authors on paper. I have almost full collections of Dick Francis, James Patterson and David Gemmell and am working on Lee Child and Brad Thor. Seeing them lined up on my bookshelves gives me a great sense of contentment...

[magnus wulfson]

I hate e-books but I am diabetic and I developed neuropathy in my left hand, so I can only hold a book up comfortably for about twenty minutes. I like to read all night when I get going on a story that really pulls me in, hence...VIVE LE E-BOOK! Seriously, I still cannot imagine the world without the look, feel and intoxicating aroma of cracking a fresh printed novel.

[45karma]

It is so strange but for me, I appreciate both the paperbacks as well as digital books(e-books). I am neither reluctant nor opposed to the idea of accepting either one in our high-tech generation we are living in. I remeber in my teen years, first reading FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS. For a test in my 7th grade English Literature class, we all were required to read Little Women, Mark Twain,Shakespeare,and from the age of 14 to 17; I indulged myself in Harlequin romance novels. Often I could read one Harlequin monthly on top of my 6 courses of academic studies, and also performing on stage in plays. Everything else has gone electronic and digital, so it was a given that paper novels would soon follow also!

[Katy_Moose]

I am a firm believer and lover of paperbacks! I often get into friendly debates with people who say that books will go out of print in my generation's lifetime. Now, I do have to admit I have the most basic Kindle. I got it a few years ago for when I travel. As an avid reader I burn through books at an alarming pace. It stopped making sense for me to pack 10lbs of books in my luggage every time I went somewhere! Although, if I fall in love with a book I read on my Kindle I will go out and buy a physical copy of it to put on my bookshelf. It makes me feel happy to have a paperback in my hands. Personal preference!

[Xinceesay]

Absolutely NO (in my opinion). Any Ebook can replace the real book except that it will be of a paper, has the same smell and the same texture)) So I see that the absolute overwhelming majority prefers real books..)

[Chrislock]

I find for me that it depends on what device I am reading an ebook on. I can't stand the ebook readers, but I found that once I got an iPad all my issues with reading ebooks went away.

What I really love about ebooks is that you are not restricted to just written words, you can also easily embed videos and interactive components into them. This works really well for books that are instructional, as you can talk about the theory of something and then embed a video to show a practical demonstration.

[KateNox]

I believe it's inevitable but certainly hope it doesn't happen. Email and drones have been invented and the post office is still in operation, so there must be hope. Right? Right?! I for one wholeheartedly prefer paperbacks. I feel that I already spend more than enough time staring at a screen everyday that reading a good old-fashioned book is a nice departure from the digital world.

This! I hope that many people feel this way actually, and I have read somewhere (god, I wish I remember where so I could name the source) that e-book selling is decreasing. Imagine that! While I do see that this world is heading to a complete digitalisation of everything (and I mean everything), my little heart is still ignoring the harsh reality and hopes that paperbacks will never be replaced.