Bookraft

Not quite the burning of the Books - just the Bookstores. This is the verdict of Wall Street guru Bill Arends at Dow Jone MarketWatch website.

Are we about to see bookstores closing across the country? I suspect so.

The arguments are based on three angled legs. First, stock valuations of the major bookstore chains, principally Barnes and Noble plus Borders are down by factors of 1/4th and 1/6th respectively. Second the price of eBook readers is rapidly declining while their capabilities and features continue to increase almost exponentially displacing the last objections for paper based books [more on this below]. Third, and finally, Bill cites the case of record stores. They have declined by a factor of 4 in employment downsizing proportionally both in number and size. All Bill is saying, despite the fact that he loves to browse for books in bookstores, is the same declining fate will be arriving for Main Street bookstores soon. Talk about being a volunteer Bearer of Bad News.

Paper Books Are Losing to eBooks

Bookraft has been following the rise of eBooks and eReaders plus the nature of paper books diminishing advantages over eBooks. A year ago, this was the balance in favor of paper books:
1)Do you want to read an eBook that can run out of power vs a book that is always available?
2)Do you want to carry around an eBook reader that is quite fragile concerning liquid, dropping, and electronic frying damage versus a paper book that can take a beating and still be worth reading?
3)Do you want to lose your reading material, out of sight and out of mind, on some cryptic eReader directory instead of books handy and immediately scannable on a bookshelf or tabletop?
4)Do you want to lug a heavy laptop/eReader around or just carry a light and friendly paperback?
5)Do you want to try to bookmark an eBook or slide a nifty real one in a book?
6)Do you want to highlight or attach notes to an eBook, if you can, or easily do the same for a real book?
7)Do you want to accelerate the decline of your eyes trying to read an eReader or be eye-friendly with a much more readable book?
8)Finally, what do want to carry to the john for a little comfy reading, a book or eBook?

Well the latest eBook readers and tablets have arrived including Apple's iPad which with Apps just adds on color eReader as another capability. And suddenly advantages 4), 5), 6), 7)and perhaps even 8)go by the wayside for books. Maybe eReaders are a bit heavier and more cumbersome than a paperback but they allow the choice of a full library of hundreds of books or the choice to switch to some music or perhaps a game. And we haven't mentioned the ease of copying a quote and inserting the bon mots in an email. Suddenly that BookStore on Main Street is looking more likely as a place for a Beauty Salon.

Needless to say Bill's article has caused a notable stir of reactions - see here while the debate on Books vs eBooks has been raging for quite a awhile. But don't bother me - I am going to the loo for a bit of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.