I think it’s foolish to overlook the draw of immediacy that e-books/readers will have over the mass readership in America. Americans are pretty impulsive people, and the idea that a book (or album, or whatever) could come up in conversation, and within one minute — without even leaving your barstool — you could purchase and download that book/album/movie is like crack to most of us.Good point.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Will E-Books Kill Bookstores?
Over at Three Percent, Chad Post has something to say about how e-readers and e-books might effect independent bookstores. He makes a good point about the impulsivity of Americans that I don't think has been emphasized in other similar stories:
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The instant gratification comes from the internet (complacency, anyone?) and while it can be viewed as something negative, it's also got its perks. On the one hand, there's that hovering fear that e-books will make bookstores obsolete. And then on the other side is the fact that someone who doesn't read much might be more likely to purchase and read a book if it's instantly available. I, for one, see e-books and hard-copies coexisting for a long time to come. I do wonder, though, how much longer this debate will go on...
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