Is the Paperback a Dying Breed?

After watching the recent BBC programme The Beauty of Books it got me thinking about the value that I hold to books. From a young age I was always encouraged to read and was always brought books to the extent that my bookcase is now overflowing. But, what will my children be reading from. Technology is rapidly growing to the extent that we can now get books on small hand-held devices. Apple has the i-pad and Amazon has developed the Kindle. At the moment they are only seen as a luxury, but, what we have to remember is so were DVD players not so long ago and i-pods. There are not very many people that I know that don't have an i-pod and even fewer that don't have some device to play DVDs on. So, are we heading towards a world that will no longer use paperbacks?

Electronic books is a brilliant idea. A lot of space is being saved in my house thanks to the i-pod because people don't really get CDs anymore, they are just given an itunes voucher to buy it themselves. So, ebooks 1, paperbacks 0. Furthermore they are available to purchase on the spot without ever having to leave the comfort of your home. If you fancied reading the latest edition of your favourite author, it would be accessible as soon as it's paperback version hit the shelves. ebooks 2 then. Some people that I have spoken to have brought up the recycling argument and how more environmentally friendly books are compared to ebooks, but they are also able to be recycled. We'll call that one a draw. So why should we keep the traditional paperback being produced?

Yes they take up more space and you have to go out to buy them, but an electronic book would not hold the same aesthetic pleasure as a paperback does. The Beauty of Books took George Orwells 1984 as a prime example. This book alone has had 16 different covers, each to represent a designers interpretation of the novel. Before we even open a book, we are being given an impression of it. Moreover, a cover is the initial attraction of wanting to read a book. ebooks will not be able to provide that, only the actual text. I for one am a person that simply likes the feel and smell of a book. This can not simply be replicated by technology. I think this is now 2-2. Although Kindles and i-pads can be recycled, their content can't. So many people can enjoy the same book thanks to donations of paperbacks to charity shops and people wanting to re-sell their old books on sites such as Amazon and Play. Of course at this point the institution of the library should be mentioned. The library provides an experience and a service that ebooks would not be able to replicate. 3-2 to the paperbacks. That is the score, but I would much rather have a cluttered house of books than not get the experience of the paperback.

I know that we are a part of an age that should embrace new technology, and the paperback will eventually be overthrown, but until then I will enjoy every book that I can in its most desired form; paper.