The Economist erred, and nobody bothered fact checking with IKEA before reprinting the story. IKEA is still making book sized BILLY shelving; however, it is adding the option of buying deeper BILLY shelving for those who want to use it for display purposes.

see the NPR story here:
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/13/140425728/ikea-changes-design-of-popular-bookcase

After lugging unpacking dozens of book boxes in our recent transatlantic move (from long term storage as well as books accumulated in Europe), my husband is starting to ask the question.

It would feel good to be free of the weight and storage issues. And there is nothing quite as yucky as cheap dimestore paperbacks after 20 years.

But... I'm old school. I develop a realtionship with a book through the paper, the font, the cover art... I can't distill it into purely a one-on-one encounter with text on a small glassy screen, no matter how convenient.

I love feeling the book in my hands.

I love going to someone's house and learning about them while perusing their bookshelves. (I've always mistrusted people who don't have books) I love picking something up off the shelf when staying at a friend's house and reading it before bed.

I find all this very sad...

Here's another part of the debunking story:

http://www.edrants.com/ikeas-billy-bookcase-the-real-story/

In short, no. I think that most people who are truly in love with reading (and not just best-sellers) are also in love with books as they exist as objects- they welcome these objects as decoration and meaningful substance in their home, just the way that record collectors and the garment obsessed cater their homes to display their appreciation of these works of art as objects.

I think that ebooks have their place- on commuting trains, airplanes, and maybe in the classroom. But real books hold it steady for bedtime stories, afternoons in the backyard, and at the local coffee shop. There is a time and a place for everything, and obviously real books aren't going anywhere.

I just can't bring myself to read e-books, much less read them to my kids before I tuck them in at night. More screen time for kids? No thanks. Somehow the tactile interaction, the real colors on the page, etc. make that seem so much more wholesome, especially for kids (and I'll admit, 99% of the books I buy these days are for or about little kids, since I don't have much time for pleasure reading lately).

I have no desire to switch to e-books. A large portion of my day is spent staring at some type of electronic device, any opportunity to flip a page is very welcome. Plus I still dream of having a floor-to-ceiling home library :)

I'll never get rid of my books.

ohiunderstand, I sure hope you're right that real books aren't going anywhere. Books are major of my life--and my decor--and they will stay that way.

One of my earliest memories is telling my parents at dinner that I wanted to be a bookkeeper when I grew up. They laughed, knowing that I meant that I wanted to be surrounded by books, take care of books, organize books, and, literally, keep books.

I don't think I could ever look forward to an afternoon in the backyard reading an ebook.

i would Hate to lose books - the real ones with paper and all. They smell good, you fall in love with them, they are handier than anything, you can mark tehm up and take notes. Yeah, I HATE having to read things on-line. Books "must" be in the standard format for me. I could not imagine being a student or reading something w/o being able to mark it up. Do Not like the e-book trend At All, not even fro junk reading. There must be a way to produce responsibly out of recycled materials for those concerned.....

oops! typos... them ... for...

I hate it when I'm too lazy to proofread and then spot a typo or, as in my post above, a word missing. In addition to books, I love words and I try to care for them.

However, I DO like the thought of them adding a a 15" deep bookshelf - for oversize books, printer, stereo, albums - now they will fit!!!!!!!! Yay!

I started getting rid of books about a decade ago, mostly through swapping at a local indie bookstore.

My philosphy is just because I've read a book doesn't mean that I have to store it, dust it or lug across the country forever.

I switched to an e-reader almost 2 years ago and much prefer that now.

So, no bookcases in my home now and probably not likely in the future.

The thought of the old Billy bookcase one day becoming a collector's item makes me chuckle!

I'm not trying to be mean...but many of you assume that people either BUY only paper books or BUY only ebooks. I do neither.

I get 99% of my books from the public library because if I bought every book I read, I'd be spending thousands. So honestly, my shelves are kinda bare not because I don't read or I have switched to ebooks, but because I don't BUY books at all. I think I buy maybe 10 books a year, total.

And as far as books themselves, I actually have switched to a Nook Color to read books I get from the library because I ride public transit and it's really, really hard to carry a 1,000-page book on the subway!

I love books - I just can't spend $3,000 a year on them. I only buy paper editions of the books I want to collect, and I rarely buy e-books. My county library system has a very extensive ebook collection. If I'm only borrowing it, why does it matter whether it's a paper book or an ebook?

This is one I really feel strongly about. I love my books. However... I have had to pare back on buying after moving overseas. Compared to the US the price of a book in New Zealand is MUCH higher. You pay more than the simple exchange rate + some reasonable fee on shipping. It's a bit crazy.

Because of this... I have come to love my e-reader. I was an early adopter with the Sony. Now I have an iPad. It's fab.

Plus - let's face it. Dead trees... global warming... it kinda makes sense.

Do I still buy books? Absolutely! Will I ever stop? No way.

Now I am really choosy about what I do purchase though. Usually it's something I have already read, or that I year for because of the large format visual appeal (design, art & oceanography books).

I suspect this trend will only continue over time. And, I worry 'real' books may actually become a luxury product. Though that is likely a few decades off...

Anyone with similar thoughts?

It's already changed our space. We have kept art books and anything of sentimental value, but after a couple of cross country moves, we decided that we would buy whatever we could in ebook format. We are much too practical to dedicate a large part of our physical space to something that could simply take up space on our iPads. I still love books but there is no reason my copy of The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo should be taking up space on a shelf.

I work in a library and I can tell you that books are very much alive and well. People do not adjust easily to new technologies, no matter how we push them to.

I agree with ohiunderstand. True book lovers will not stop buying books and bookcases to hold the books they will keep buying or already own.

I LOVE MY BOOKS

I want to add, I've never liked the concept of an e-reader. How can you want to read a novel off of an electronic device? (Anyone read the Diamond Age by chance? That future is getting here sooner than later!)

Anyway, my husband bought an HP TouchPad recently. He's a big tech junkie. I thought, "What do we need this for???" Lo and behold, I found myself using it days later for reading the pages-long PDF files that my professor sends out through email. It irks me to read long documents off the laptop and there is no way I will print out 10 pages of reading, wasting not only paper, but ink. So there you go, I found a purpose for a sort of e-reader. A convenient electronic document reader!

and_scene: This is pretty much how I feel about it. Practicality trumps romantic notions of gigantic libraries, especially when you're moving.

ohiunderstand and Anita83: I'm curious how you think that "true book lovers" don't stop buying books and bookcases. Are you all fabulously rich? Do you have infinite amounts of space?

I don't think it's a good idea to categorize people who are simply being practical as being the "other" when it comes to who is a true book lover and who isn't.

I love books - but books are ideas and stories and characters and should not be contained to the medium. Before the modern printing press stories were told orally, carved on wood or stone, or written with ink on scrolls. Those stories are no less important than the stories now conveyed on paper, ink, and pixels.

Anita83: an ereader IS an electronic document reader. What do you think ebooks are? Electronic documents.

I also just don't quite get your question. "How can you want to read a novel off of an an electronic device?" Why not? Because you prefer paper? That's a personal preference, sure, but there's nothing wrong with e-readers. I love reading with an ereader. Have you tried reading a 1,000 page hardback? It's not exactly comfortable.

Any sane human will hesitate to take a $200+ dollar e-reader or tablet into the tub, and that's my favorite place to read ... ssssooooooo...

Don't confuse the medium with the work. A book is a book is a book, and the content is always the same. Whether it be a paper book, an ebook, or an audiobook, the book hasn't changed - merely the interface.

The same argument applies to music and movies; the physical object in the form of CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays vs digital files. What would you think of someone who said they could never listen to a digital song, and could only play it off the CD?

I commented on the earlier story, but that just means I've been thinking about this all morning. I really do love my Kindle - I love the ease of getting new books, the convenience of having a pencil thin something to slip into my purse when I head out in the morning, and the ink-based screen means I'm not spending more hours in front of a backlit screen. And I cannot WAIT for a Netflix-like system from Amazon!

But I also love my physical books. I love holding them and flipping through the pages, and loaning them to friends and being able to share those memories concretely. This means that no matter how convenient it is for me to try a new author minutes after I find her, I'm not giving up my nearly-destroyed 20 year-old copy of The Phantom Tollbooth.

I don''t believe that any of us will see the obliteration of physical books, and I think it's highly unlikely that our children will see it either. I think by the time that happens, text will be beamed in front of our eyes by the implant we get placed in our brain at conception...Wall-E, here we come.

I'm still going to have an old fashioned library when I have a house, but I read books by the GB on my iPad. The books in my personal library will probably never leave the house... I love collecting old books with great illustrations and leather bindings.

I thought I was a person who loves books.

Turns out I'm a person who loves reading, as I discovered when my husband bought me a Kindle as a hoiday gift.

Over 15 years of moves, I'd gradually streamlined my possessions, including books. But now I've stripped my collection down to a small number of favorites, plus some that are rare or out of print.

My husband, of course, is another matter entirely. Which is why the room that should be a playroom for our small sons is practically wall-to-wall books. And I don't just mean on the shelves.

I love print books and I plan on buying an e-reader in the future. Mainly I'm waiting for the price of e-books to come done a little. I own a lot of books. I'd probably be willing to get rid of all but some out of print titles from my childhood and my favorite design books.

e-books haven't changed my home.

I got a kindle when it was first released. I love it. The e-ink is easy on the eyes and I love being able to change the font size. It is great to be able to buy something to read while on the go (planes, trains & automobiles) and to have a variety of reading material available in a small package.

I also love books. I may buy something as an e-book at first - and get it hardback later on because I reference it often or want to share it with others. If it is graphic intensive, there is no question that I am buying a physical book. Ditto for children’s books.

I am just saved the dilemma of what to do with books like the Nanny Diaries which was read once, and while enjoyable, not really something I would want to pack/unpack if I had to move. Quite simply, there is no longer the need to decide if something is "shelf-worthy" before reading.

I LOVE books, but I also appreciate my Kindle. It's more environmentally friendly and easier to pack, plus I don't have to wait to get a book (and they're often cheaper).

But I think there will still be a place for more visual books. That's why we use IKEA's Expedit bookcases - you can fit art books in them: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40047675

(Btw, more and more writers are blending art and words into hybrid books and graphic novels. I still buy the paper versions of those.)

I read tangible books and I will never read an e-book. I buy paperbacks, old, beat up, already underlined paperbacks for 20-40 cents each. I swap books, pick them up at yard sales/flea markets/thrift stores. I gift my favorites to friends.

I can safely say that I will never switch to any e-readers. I stare at a computer screen and my phone far too often, and although I do not own a TV - I feel like I spent a lot of time in front of a screen.

Holding a book in your hand is an experience, fumbling with the pages, placing a scrap of paper inside to hold your place, writing a note to a friend on the inside cover.

I will take my paperbacks over another screen any day.

I love reading and I love the look of a wall full of books, but for me collecting something that takes up so much space (not to mention having to move them ever year or so) just isn't very practical.

It saddens me that someone would "mistrust" someone who doesn't own a lot of books, or the attitude I often come across that if you don't have everything you've ever read on display in your home you must not have read anything at all. For example, a roommate of mine who kept all of her books actually once told me that "you don't like to read" just because of my (mostly) empty bookshelf! I usually get my books from the library or (even more frequently) am lent books from friends and family and then I return them. Also, I tend not to reread novels so there doesn't seem much point in holding on to them unless they're particularly important to me.

I recently got an e-reader and love it! I don't think I'll give up reading "real" books as well any time soon, but I think there's a place for people who want both.

I will never give up books; that is where I draw the line. I love the look, feel and page turning ritual of it.

I've thought of buying my husband an iPad since he travels a lot and an e-reader would be practical for him. But we also just spent months searching for the perfect bookcases to add to our redecorated dining/living area for our books. We have both held onto sentimental books from our childhoods, and enjoy having our favorite books close at hand and on display. I'm not an avid reader - actually I read novels rarely (compared to my blog and magazine reading). Having my books out in the open actually encourages me to pick one up and curl up in the corner when this is not my natural first choice for relaxation/entertainment. I don't think I would get that same "reminder" from an iPad laying on a table.

We got rid of about a thousand books when we moved last summer. We still have about two thousand. They look nice lining our living room, but in future I will be reading every book I possibly can on my Kindle, which is clean, light, spacious, adjustable, comfortable, and searchable. I will continue to read poetry and art books on paper, as well as books with lots of diagrams I need to flip back and refer to--at least, I will until they improve the e-formats for those books. I FAR prefer reading on the Kindle. I make my living writing books, but I'm not sentimental about paper. My books are made of words and ideas, not paper and ink.

I only hope piracy won't make it impossible for novelists to make a living once ebooks overtake paper books. (Not that it's ever been easy for novelists to make a living...)

i was anti e-reader for some time, but when we bought an ipad 1 and now an ipad 2, i couldn't resist trying out the kindle app. i don't think i'll stop buying physical books, but as others have said, it'll save trees on those books that you read once on a plane and never look at again. after several cross country moves, i know my SO dreads the book boxes most. this article actually inspired me to do a purge of my bookcases. anyone in dc want to do a book swap of sorts?

My, what a romantic, sentimental group we have here.

I get the appeal of paper books, and we have a whole room full of them, but it seems a bit arrogant to assume that just because YOU don't feel any sentimental attachment to e-readers (since they are new both in general and to each of us, as opposed to books, which many of us have had around all out lives) that anyone who uses e-readers is less sentimental about their reading material. One there's a generation or two who grew up with them, those people will have the same attachment to their e-readers that you do to your hardcovers.

Not that I think we're going to just stop making paper books. My 12"x12" coffee table books just wont convert well, for one thing, and the collection of old books is a time honored and much loved practice.

My wife is a big book collector. But once she filled the den, wall to wall, with full book cases I had to say no more. At some point it becomes impractical. So, many of those books left the house, to make room for new acquisitions. BUT they are filling up much much slower now that she is buying mainly e-books. Only the best and brightest make it onto our shelves now, but her e-reader allows her to have at her fingertips all those books we don't have the space for. And we buy better quality printings, to. Perhaps paper books will become a luxury item. I am certainly willing to spend more on the deluxe edition of a favorite, now that dime store pulp costs us less and doesn't clutter up my home.

I guess what I mean to say is that if e-readers allow many of us to read more books at less cost and inconvenience, AND promotes high-quality hardcover editions of best loves books, then to me they seem like a really fabulous thing.

To me mschatelaine nailed exactly what I think about this. It's not just about the book as an object it's the relationship I have with the book that makes me keep it and display it in my home.

I keep it in my purse, read in the tub, lend a great book to friends. My reading lifestyle just wouldn't support an e-reader at this time.

Coincidentally, I have been thinking about this topic all day. I was walking down my street to the coffee place I hit every morning on my way to work, and lo and behold, there on the sidewalk were two GIANT boxes of books, all in beautiful condition and all by authors I have read and loved or have been meaning to read -- Ralph Ellison, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jeffrey Eugenides, Hugo, Capote, Henry Miller, Carson McCullers were just a few. Ground score!! I grabbed as many as I could carry (in my tote and the big shopping bag the barista gave me), as did several other stoked passersby. And I started speculating about the person who had discarded them. A recently retired academic? A vengeful girlfriend dumping her ex's stuff? How could someone who obviously knew good literature have just disposed of these books so cavalierly? And then it hit me: it could have been someone who had coverted to e-reading.

I am a person who never felt guilty about spending money on books, until the grim economy finally made me nervous and I became chiefly a library book reader, so I haven't added to my own considerable library for a long time. But finding these freebies made me realize how much I love the package as well as the content. I have bookshelves in almost every room in my house, and books are a big part of the atmosphere I have worked hard to create, as well as a constant source of pleasure as I read them, reread them, appreciate their design, organize them, lend them to friends -- it's just not the same with an e-book. Plus, I am staring at a screen all day at work, and the last thing I want to do when I come home to relax is fire up another device. I wouldn't mind having one to take on a trip, though; they're obviously great for traveling.

The people who lucked into your abandoned trove all thank you, kind anonymous benefactor!

I was lucky enough to attend a talk that addressed e-books possibly doing away with paper books. The panel consisted of a professor in charge of the publishing arm of a local university, the head of our public library system, and a local author. It was very interesting. In the end it was decided that e-books have their uses (textbooks that can be updated quickly and cheaply, 100s of books in 1 device) but we would always love paper books.

I just started reading on my ipad this year - I love it, but I also usually have a paperback on hand borrowed from someone or picked up in the airport. Usually all fiction books, paperbacks, etc, I read and pass on. If I kept every book I read I would be in trouble!

But we collect a lot of art and design hard covers, as well as non-fiction biographies, science books and some favorite fiction that we keep in a big book case. I'll keep most of these forever and I'll add to it, because they are more reference than anything.

I like this discussion. So much reading now happens in front of screens... I'm not sure why people like me feel that reading books is just better on paper, but it is a fundamentally different activity, I think.

I've been carting books around with me since I was a child and shed old friends more slowly than I acquire new ones. Some I may never read again but they are visual touchstones...
My partner loves e-books, I don't. It's all fine.

The only people I really don't get are the people who wrap books in blank paper and fill shelves with them as 'design statements'. I'm sure
Orwell would have had a thing or two to say about that...

love reading. don't care either way about piles of paper, but £/sq ft in London makes piles of dead paper a luxury so e-book all the way. All I need now is a safe way to read e-books in the bath - galaxy tab projector anyone?

Yeah, libraries. I've been reading 52 books a year for the past two years, and I've maybe bought 6 or 8 books that were by my favorites of I wanted to spend more time on. I almost feel guilty for not supporting authors by actually buying books, but... oh well.

There is a place for both. However, I buy my books at yard sales, thrift stores, etc. and also use the library frequently. I love the way books look, smell and feel. I too, read in the tub, and I like keeping some books for reference. I say, to each his own, but I sincerely hope books don't go away in my lifetime.

I love being able to read old, old classics that I download for free on Gutenberg.org that I just wouldn't find anywhere in print form anymore. I'm a student and have been able to save on buying textbooks by downloading eBooks. there are some physical books I won't part with, but I am actually about to embark on a big book purge and have a feeling there will be very few left in my apartment soon.

We have a Nook and several bookshelves filled with books, mostly unattractive paperbacks. I like both, but since the Nook is my husbands, I read mostly paper books. And we still don't have enough space for all of the books we bought at Borders going out of business sale. We move semi frequently but we haven't even managed to pare down the double copies of books that both my husband and I bought before we got married. I don't even think I buy books that frequently, recent acquisitions notwithstanding.
Anyway, we use ereaders and will continue to do so, but physical books will never leave our home.

As a librarian, I think there are several issues here. First, what will last the test of time, second what is practical in the moment, and third, the aesthetics of the formats.

Obviously, in my job I have access to way more books that I would ever own, as well as discounts in case I WANT to own things, and also access to donated items (those not needed for our collections). So I have a lot of books. But I am selective.

I read a lot of mysteries and sci-fi/fantasy. I don't own much of that -- just some special favorites. Fiction is something I could easily read on a e-reader if I had one, because I read it once and it's gone, normally.

But non-fiction (gardening, art, crafts, philosophy, mythology, etc.) I own so I can refer to them again and again. Especially beautifully illustrated books. These I would never want as e-books.

I do think TEXTBOOKS for college and maybe high school are obvious e-book items. They are updated often (so become OUTdated), weigh a ton (well, MINE did, anyhow!) and cost the sky. I swoon at the idea of carrying one Kindle or Nook or whatever with all my course materials on it -- fantastic!

As a librarian, though, another consideration if the longevity of the medium. A well bound book on quality paper will be around for possibly hundreds of years if taken care of. Future generations will have ongoing access to great authors and ideas. But individual e-books will only be valid while software remains that can open and present the file correctly. If you ever tried to open a Microsoft Works file with Microsoft Office, you might get the idea of the problem this could create in the future. Conversion software is good, if somebody bothers to convert...

"Will E-Books Change How Our Homes Look?"

Uh, not mine. I love books. I love the way they look (individually and on my shelves), I love the way they feel, and I love the way they make me feel when I'm reading one. I especially love really old beautiful books with a history. I can't get enough of the ones with the inscriptions on the inside covers, or the ones with the notes in the margins (from the days when people had impeccable penmanship). My house wouldn't be the same house without my books.

HOWEVER, I do read some books on my ipad! I never thought I'd see the day, but I do it. I do it because I've never been one to save every last paperback that I read on an airplane or on the beach. Or books that I know I'll never pick up again. Is it better than reading an actual "book"? Hardly. The pacing doesn't even feel the same on an e-reader. But it's convenient and instantly gratifying, and kinda fun (and easy on the eyes). In other words, there's room for both in my home.

loved my Nook at first, but as one publisher after another turned to "Agency" pricing I have seen the price go up and up. Some e-books are now more expensive to own than the hardcovers!

I should have posted this here but I posted it to the wrong place...
there are so many posters I agree with on this thread..

I never thought I would like an e-reader then my husband bought me a nook...
i love my nook.. except when there is a problem and suddenly the book you are reading disappears and you can't finish it, and you can't do anything until the next morning because you are LOCKED out from the book and need to speak to customer service who are god knows where and you can not understand a word they say... then it takes 4 hours and two more phone calls to get your damn book back.
oh yeah this happened to me....
*twice*
it's a pain in the a**
real books will always be in my home. classics are classics they are meant to be read as they were printed and if i can I opt for as close to an original printing (copyright 1920? yes please!)
but say the sookie stackhouse series? not exactly bookshelf material in my eyes so sure lets nook those books.
all i can think is ray bradbury. *shudders* I think books will stick around but on a smaller degree in peoples homes. readers are convenient and will change i'm sure (as cd dvds blu ray etc..) but myself personally I will continue to buy vintage hard cover books since getting my nook they are all I consider worth buying everything else can go to the e-reader.... though it does make one think... for the future what a lack of vintage books there will be!

Actual books need no time for my computer "to load", are drop-able and stand abuse (tech is not), need no battery, serve as paper weights, to press flowers, as added height (if thick enough) to reach top shelves and i can take notes actually on them (only if they are textbooks). They can even serve as self defense weapons....

No, not giving my books anytime soon. Also, i'm wary of using my laptop on places like the subway or the park.

I am a recovering bibliophile and am enjoying the open spaces and lack of dust in our home since giving up most of my old friends. I now realize that holding onto old books that one doesn't have time or motivation to reread is just silly. If you love something, share it with the world. Unless, of course, it's a signed, first edition.

I keep a healthy mixture of both print and digital formats. I love having books on display and have a whole wall devoted to it but with the frequency that I move and the amount I read its just highly impractical (and too expensive) to buy print copies of everything. I try to limit myself to only buying print copies of books that I really love.

Over time - maybe. While I love my kindle I don't think all books will be able to go digital, especially ones that contain pictures. Put I do think people will buy less printed books and so more and more homes will have less books (on display).

I buy primarily e-books these days- I have a Nook Color and one of the newer e-ink Nooks. I still buy paper books from time to time, but for most of the reading I do, e-books serve the purpose. About a year ago, I sent several hundred books to a local charity. They had been sitting on shelves for years without me looking at them ... I was tired of dusting them and so I "lightened" the load. E-books don't save me a lot of money, but they don't collect dust and take up space in my house.
I do prefer to get magazines on my Nook Color, though ... it's great not to have to lug off a stack of magazines to the recycling bin every few months.
The convenience of carrying several books and magazines in a single, lightweight device is great for traveling.

When I am reading on an e-ink device, I often find myself reaching up to turn the page- the experience is very close to the experience of reading a paper book.

What's the difference between the person reading War and Peace in paper and the one reading on an ereader? Nothing at all. It's the content that matters, not the medium. It is indeed arrogant to think that people who prefer ereaders don't enjoy reading as much, plain and simple.

If your lifestyle is more apt to paper books that you can have in the bath, lend to people, leave in the airport for strangers... that's wonderful. But it's important to be aware that others may not the same needs, and there's nothing wrong with that; we're all different, and that makes things more exciting, right?

For everyone who couldn't possibly dream of an e-reader because they do all the reading in the bath . . . you can put your e-reader in a Ziploc.

I still wouldn't submerge it for fun, but it will definitely protect against a stray splash or two.

Michael Hart, the inventor of the e-book, and founder of Project Gutenberg, died on Sept 6, 2011. His vision was not to replace the paper book, but to provide a lasting, accessible copy of the text for all people. Pat your reader, and say Thanks, Michael S. Hart.

I love books and never would have bought an e-book reader, but a couple of years ago my husband's company gave out Kindles for Christmas. They give a cool "tech" gift every year, and I have to say, I was a little disappointed when he told me it was a Kindle!

I have come to love it though. There are so many free older books available on it. I have only paid for a handful of books for the Kindle, and only when it's something I can't find used and new is significantly more expensive than the e-book.

We homeschool, and having the Kindle has saved me a fortune, because I can download a lot of older texts I would need to buy, for free. I don't mind reading to my kids on the Kindle. I don't consider it screen time, as I am the only one looking at the screen (and since they don't watch TV or use the computer at all, I'd rather they got any screen time this way anyway).

I don't think I'll ever give up real books though.

I sold used books on a fairly large scale (100,000+ over the years) and can say fairly definitively that book sales have steadily declined since e-readers came on the market. So yes it is statistically true that people are buying fewer books. With that said, I can't imagine living without the warmth and personality of the thousands of books in my home and assume I will one day be an old lady with an anachronistic collection of old books hanging around.

I'm a researcher studying medieval religious history, and while I can appreciate the portability of e-readers (and their potential in the classroom for storing and managing pedagogical resources like textbooks), I find that books allow me to flip back and forth between chapters and footnotes much more easily - so for scholarship, I prefer actual books. When I'm reading philosophy or historical theology, I prefer a book because it allows me to underline text and comment/write/diagram in the margins - which facilitates a kind of interaction with the text that an e-reader just doesn't allow. Also, I've had the opportunity to work with medieval manuscripts, and it's an amazing experience to actually read the words that were carefully hand-lettered by some anonymous monk in the 14th century onto the smooth leathery vellum pages (some of which still maintain the look of skin, giving the book a kind of identity as a living thing). Pulp fiction paperbacks may be expendable and thus appropriate for e-readers, but some books are worth preserving and honoring - and here I don't just mean ancient manuscripts, but also out-of-print and rare books, books that facilitate research and scholarship, and books that allow the reader to interact with difficult concepts in a highly personalized way.

Moreover, I wonder about the ways in which e-readers will change the function of the reading brain. Studies have shown that on-line reading can drive the brain to distraction, which leads to long-term changes in the way the brain processes and sorts information in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex. Reading an actual book produces remarkably different results, with related consequences for the processes of short-term memory and information sorting (and, surprise, those results are generally more beneficial). My question is simply whether e-readers will also effect the way our brains read - and whether those changes will be beneficial. In particular, as we teach children to read, what medium will work best for the development of young minds - e-readers or books?

"I find that books allow me to flip back and forth between chapters and footnotes much more easily - so for scholarship, I prefer actual books."

I've had the opposite experience. It's just as easy to navigate between footnotes and the originating text in an ereader as it is to navigate webpages, it's all hyperlinked. I've come across one or two ebooks that didn't contain hyperlinks back and forth, but that's the fault of a lazy publisher, not the fault of the ebook or ereader.

"When I'm reading philosophy or historical theology, I prefer a book because it allows me to underline text and comment/write/diagram in the margins - which facilitates a kind of interaction with the text that an e-reader just doesn't allow."

My ereader (Sony Touch) does that. In addition I can easily note individual words, passages, and even dog-ear pages.

I love real books. Won't stop reading them ever. Having said that I got an e reader for use when I travel. I read several books a week and can't afford to use just an e-reader even if I wanted to.

As much as I love books though I rarely ever keep anything that I have bought. I don't have the space and I am not keeping around books that I won't read again. I don't have time to re-read as there are far to many other books that I want to consume.

Totally. I will only buy physical books if the have awesome bindings to display on my shelves as decorative items. Ideally the pages inside would all be blank.

I have read the comments with much interest and I know that you readers will enjoy my site which celebrates books through photos of bookcases. Also, I have links to articles on the impact technology has on hardback books, and articles and photos that would interest the discriminating readers. http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-BookCase-Project/201733486549165