“The book is dead, long live the book.
(…) While there can be no denying that printed book sales have taken a massive hit with the rise of digital, there is some evidence that the rate of decline is slowing and that the excitement over e-readers is subsiding.
(…) But a lot depends on the sector you’re looking at.
Adult fiction (…) has migrated strongly to the e-book, whereas cookery and religious books still do well in print, as do books with illustrations. (…)
There are plenty of services out there trying to bridge the gap between the physical and the digital, extending the definition of what a book is. (…)
The Little Girl Who Lost Her Name – a printed book that could be digitally individualised to include the name of the child reading it – went on to be the top-selling children’s picture book in Britain and Australia.
(…)“Digital technology and the rise in the digital reading culture has allowed authors and publishers many more new creative opportunities to develop ‘the book’ further and delight readers,” she says.
“It also allows authors to publish directly, to connect intimately with their readers and, crucially, to create new ways of telling their stories.”
(…) So the book isn’t dead; technology is simply helping it evolve beyond its physical confines.
Long live the book.” Read full story