E-Books Are Not the Print Apocalypse

Photo credit: Johan Larsson on Flickr

I'm sure many of you heard the big news on Monday that e-books topped hardcover sales at Amazon, news that some like to interpret as another nail in the proverbial coffin for brick-and-mortar bookstores. And while it can sound like bad news, especially to those who side wholly with print books, I don't believe it's bad news at all.

Before I go on, I'd like to say (once again) that I love print books. Nothing beats the smell of a new book (except maybe new shoes), and I love having something tangible in my hands as I read and I love comparing the texture of the paper and most of all, I love collecting my books and adding them to my overflowing bookshelf. 

But I also love my e-reader. I love not having to worry about losing (or finding) a bookmark, I love being able to rest the e-reader on my lap while I sit outside without fear of the wind blowing the pages around while I'm trying to read and I love that I can carry as many books as my heart desires in a little device that doesn't weigh more than a couple pounds.

I think that sometimes people get caught up in choosing a side between print and electronic books and they forget that a book is a book and it doesn't matter what format the writing comes in as long as people continue to read. And really, that's the important part, isn't it? As long as people are reading, writers and readers alike have little reason to worry because as long as there is a demand for books (and by books I meant books in any format) there will be people who continue to write and publish them (and, I suspect, there are people who would continue to write books, even if the demand disappeared). 

So now on Monday (according to the NYT article I linked to above), Amazon announced that in the last three months they sold 143 e-books for every 100 hard covers they sold, and it makes some people nervous about the future of the print book. But guys, e-books are not the print apocalypse nor are they the demise of the book. Because while it's true that the rise of e-books may at some time or another eventually lead to print books becoming a little more difficult to find, I truly don't believe that they will disappear entirely, at least, not for a very long time.

We should celebrate the rise of e-books just as we would an increase in sales in print books—because a book is a book and a rise in sales is always good news for writers and readers because it means people are reading. 

And as long as people continue to read, what else matters?

 What do you think? Am I crazy to think that e-books are not the print apocalypse or do you agree that a book is a book regardless of the format?