Is the Book a Dead Duck?

Amazon's Kindle has revolutionised reading. No longer do we need to trek to the bookshop to pick up a good read, we simply download it.

Never in a million years would I, an avid reader for more than fifty years, have suspected that such a thing would have been possible.
After all a book, is a book, is a book. Not anymore it isn't, the book is now the eBook. So, is that it for the poor old book.

Had it's day has it? This book is no more! This book has fallen off it's perch.

..
apology to Monty Python, sorry guys! So, that's it, it was King of the Castle and now the book is the Dirty Rascal. Well, maybe not.
Let's think this thing through. There's a lot of people out there who hate technology and so, if your are a techno-phobic citizen, you're not going to want to buy a Kindle, are you.

Then there's the guys who can't work an ATM let alone a Kindle.
Those who are allergic to Kindles. Those who read in the bath.

.

.

if Amazon can make a Kindle out of sponge, make it float and not electrocute the user they are on a sure-fire winner with that one.
But moreover there are those who will never enjoy browsing Amazon for a good book, they want a book store to do their browsing. These browsers are the future for the small and specialist book shops that are bound to spring up now that the book has been deemed defunct.

With the demise of the big bookstores and the rise of the downloaded eBook, small book shops will make a comeback.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that small print run companies are in a unique position to fill the inevitable gap that will be left when a few of the dinosaur publishers fall by the wayside in the not too distant future.
The book as a product is currently taking a bashing from the eBook, but the book is a revered human invention and something a lot of people will not give up. The book probably has a much longer shelf-life and will be around for some time to come.
After all, it was Johannes Gutenberg, in around 1439, who was the first European to use the moveable typeface and the inventor of the printing press. His invention has had a massive impact on human knowledge and played a key role in creating a learning based economy and the spread of learning to the masses.
That makes the book over five hundred years old.

I wouldn't mind betting the Kindle will not be around that long. In this throw away era, something will come along to knock the current King off its pedestal. Who knows, maybe books will become treasured pieces, like ancient vases, and fetch a few million at auction.
I doubt we will ever be able to say that of a Kindle. Copyright (c) Tom Sowler 2011