I found a link to this while browsing The Book Depository (http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/)

http://mssv.net/2007/07/23/the-death-of-book-publishers/

It’s not going to happen overnight, but – to my mind – it just needs the Sony reader (or something along the same lines) to come down in price. There’ll be a paradigm shift, and suddenly they’ll be part of normal life.

I crave one of these readers with every fibre of my Aquarian heart but – because I'm Aquarian – I’ll continue to fill my house with books… so long as they're available to buy.

Dee

Hi Dee

I hope it doesn't happen too quickly. I'll miss looking at what other people are reading on trains and buses. I think people who love books, love books, so even though I do think these gizmos might become more popular, I can't see it taking off in such a huge way, but you never know.

JB

I thought the discussion was very interesting, but I still think it's going to take a lot longer to take over than people think for ordinary leisure reading, because as someone on the thread said, an e-reader offers far fewer advantages over books than an iPod does over CDs. There's absolutely nothing wrong with books as a piece of technology, whereas recorded music has always been awkward. If everyone could read a pocket score as easily as they read a paperback, would we all have the complicated kit we do for playing music?

I think it'll come first for academic books, where searching and citations and links and so on do provide huge advantages over a physical book.

And I shan't be buying one till I can read it in the bath, in bright sunshine, out of the corner of my eye, and without any need at all for a charger...

Emma