The Survival of the Physical Book

E-books have slowly begun to creep into the world of mass media. E-books (books that have been digitalized to be online or on a device) are certainly easy to find and generally much less expensive to purchase than the standard cover-to-cover book, yet they simply do not have the same “feel.” However, e-books seen to be becoming the new trend. Soon the world will see complete collections of books available electronically. Perhaps the physical “book” will eventually become entirely obsolete.

Blockbuster books may be making it in the market, but often they do not seem to be the next best book out for reading. Often, it seems, many of these “blockbuster” books are also blockbuster films. Is the fact that a producer purchased the rights to a certain book equal the inevitable success of both the book and the film? Few books seem like good literature on these lists.

Publishing houses should start consolidating and figuring out what their roles are within the industry. Otherwise, the entire industry might begin to take a huge hit with regards to their moneymaking.

Overall, the survival of the physical book in America (specifically) lies in the interest of American Culture. If the new popular “thing” is getting a Kindle, a book with paper pages will become obsolete. In reality, only time will tell how the industry will keep up.