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I was standing in Barnes and Nobles today, and I reallized that if books were phased out with ebooks, then there would be no need for Barnes and Noble, and that quite honestly made me sad--even though I LOVE technology and have thought about buying a kindle myself.

I think paper based books will eventually be phased out.  No one ever said that it would happen to paper newspapers, but look at what is happening to them.  More and more are closing and turning to Internet form. The same thing with books.

I really, really hope not. The ideas of not being able to hold a physical book while reading, of not being able to arrange them and rearrange them in a book case, of not being able to carry one everywhere (just in case)--too awful to think about! I'm sure ebooks will make some kind of dent in the market, considering the popularity of anything technology-related, but many people (including teenagers) just love owning their own books.

There are some books, too, that wouldn't lend themselves well to the ebook format. What about beautiful books of photography? We can see a collection of color pictures on a screen (even a big screen), but we couldn't put an ebook on the coffee table for easy browsing and a few spare moments of enjoyment. And how do you make brilliant and insightful (!) margin notes in an ebook? Is there a way???? I don't know, and I don't want to find out!

In reply to #3: Ms Hurn, isn't that what people said about newspapers and magazines? All are now readily available for download including many popular photograph based magazines. And with new technology, a computer can enhance the image and make it clearer.

Also, it will reduce bodily wear from carrying pounds of books.  Instead of a heavy book-bag, just carry a portable hand held device with keyboard.

I dond't think people with Kindles are dismayed over the demise of the paper book.

One of the most beautiful rooms in the Biltmore Estate, a French chateau nestled in the valley below the picturesque Smoky Mountains, is the library. This library at the Biltmore mansion is decorated with dark red leather furniture and complimented by leather-bound books housed on shelves of beautiful wood.  Truly, there is no furniture so lovely as books. They bring humanitiy to even an empty room.

For, when people who have read the books on the shelves glance at them, their minds resonate with the memory of the contents of each book and the knowledge that the pages contain the spirit of its author.  At times, it is as though one sees an old friend when one looks upon a book or opens it to reread for the 100th time the loving inscription from those who have left marks upon one's heart.

Should all this tangible experience be now lost? Many a contented moment has been passed traversing the shelves and tables of books in libraries and bookstores. O unhappy day....O barren new artificial world where there is no smell of ink or crinkling of page, or ribbon to mark one's travels in imagination! 

Indeed there is a good chance of paper books getting phased out. But that may not be all a blessing, at least not for me. For me the palpable feel of the pages, the distinguishable smells of new and old books carry a lot of fondness. It must take a good deal of time before the technology is made available to all sections of people all over the world. What will happen to all those bread-earners in the present publishing industry? Mechanisation of the habit/process of reading may cause some health hazards in the long run.

It might be more of a blessing to not only make ebooks but to make software that can read to people who are illiterate or unable to read for themselves.

Most certainly e-books are becoming increasingly popular. The biggest advantage of e-books over the hard copy or printed books is the cost. Once a book is stored in a computer system connected to the Internet, copies of it can be delivered to anyone, anywhere in the world almost instantaneously at negligible cost. As compared to this printing of hard copies involves substantial costs. Also the time taken for printing and delivering the book to individual customers can be very high. Even for the reader of books it is much more convenient to store the book in electronic form rather than as hard copies.

However e-books are not convenient to read. Most of the people, including Bill Gates, find it paper books more convenient to read. Can we imagine a person relaxing on the beach reading an e-boo on the beach as some people do with paper books.

Due to these reasons the likelihood of printed books being completely phased out in, say, next ten years is very remote. Though people are trying to develop systems that will make carrying and reading of e-books with ale the associated equipment for reading much more convenient. So we can expect that in some distant future printed books will be replaced by e-books.

Indeed ebooks may become more popular & 'convenient'. But the joy of holding a new book,the smell of the leather bound covers, the joy of gifting/receiving a book is something one cannot do with ebooks.It will be like sending hugs & kisses on email than actually hugging, the whole tactile experience is lost.So I personally do not think that ebooks will replace paper books.

How is storage on those Kindles?  What is the cost?  How many books can one actually have on that machine at one time?  If I am going to purchase a book, I want to be able to re-read it at any time or go back to it for quick reference on some aspect that I remember when reading something else or making a connecton in some other way.  How easy is it to do that?  When the mechanical dogs come sniffing around my house to see what books I have, will I be able to pull ALL my ebooks off the shelf on my digital flashdrives so I can run to the woods with my other book-loving buddies, or will they simply erase the whole online database and I'm stuck with a useless machine? 

I am a Barnes and Noble lover, too.  It is human to enjoy congregating in a lovely space, sipping coffee or tea, and pondering all the print materials while the children read or play in the train area.  How sad if it all disappears for convenience.