Do you think with the rising popularity of devices such as Kindle and Nook that

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   Bel Marshallposted 13 years ago

   Do you think with the rising popularity of devices such as Kindle and Nook that bookstores will...
   
   soon be a thing of the past?

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   Trealmonposted 13 years ago

   There is a possibility, but I hope that it does not happen. I love my kindle and all, but nothing can beat the thrills of reading a paperback or hardback book

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   LaFlammeposted 13 years ago

   Just wrote about that very thing. I think it's here to say, mostly because of its online capabilities.
   
   http://hubpages.com/hub/A-Very-Kindle-Christmas

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   MoneyCreator24posted 13 years ago

   No, I do not think so. People will continue to love a printed book in their hands.

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   violannposted 13 years ago

   I don't think books will become a thing of the past.  I would much rather hold a book in my hand than one of those devices.

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   lilibeesposted 13 years ago

   I think it is possible, and I think for some like me who is an avid reader, and collector of books this would be a sad time!

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   point2makeposted 13 years ago

   I believe bookstores will survive but, perhaps, with a novel twist. I think the newer larger bookstores, who depend on large volume sales, will suffer the most. Like the music stores the larger bookstores will lose many customers to "downloads". It may just be that the smaller local bookstores who carry new, used and collectible books will make a comeback. Here's to the little shops....may you "live long and prosper"

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   Tusitala Tomposted 13 years ago

   Yes, I think it bookshops will gradually fade away...but I mean gradually.   Fifty years time they're liable to be an oddity, bit like trying to find a blacksmith in a big city.   Books will still be around, but in different forms, I expect.   And, in all probability, in some form we haven't even conceived of yet.
   
   I can recall as a child (I'm talking 65 years ago) reading a comic whereby the writer takes us deeper and deeper into the future until there stands a little gadget that nobody even knows what it was made for and what it would do.   A USB drive today would have had the same mystery then as this gadget will have in the future.
   
   No, I expect we'll have a new mystery gadget that will do many things for us, include holding the contesnts of our books.

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   Smaridge01posted 13 years ago

   I think the traditional idea of a bookstore is fading fast.  There will still be bookstores, but the will slowly, or rapidly even, evolve into something different, more of a social media version of a bookstore with an emphasis on socializing and delivering digital content.
   
   Hopefully, there will still be a market, maybe even more of a market, for the dimly lit, dusty old used book stores that I love so much!!!

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    mcrawford76posted 13 years ago

    I actually touched on this subject in a Hub I wrote called Things lost, forgotten, or soon to vanish entirely. Noting how far newspaper sales have fallen (upwards of 77%). And the access to digital copies of books, I think we will see in our lifetime the reduction or stoppage of book printing, and with that we will see a reduction of book stores, and public libraries as well.

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    Teegan E. Rossposted 13 years ago

    Just like the traditional media companies, I believe that bookstores can survive if they adapt, adopt new technology, and pay attention to the ultimate thing they are delivering - information - and adapt to how consumers want to receive that.

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    dennahposted 13 years ago

    As much as new devices are being developed, other new ones will be invented to outdo them.

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    Kogome62posted 13 years ago

    I'm not sure, it depends on the people in the world.
    If it is a child who needs help reading, bookstores might lose some business, but people who grew up reading printed books will still be reading.

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    libby101aposted 13 years ago

    I don't think they will fade away. I do think they will lose a little income. But there are far too many people who still enjoy a printed book opposed to a digital one.
    
    I think most people find the digital books are convenient and same on space. Especially those living in apartments! However, there are still those who would rather have the real thing!

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    The Demon Writerposted 13 years ago

    I most certainly hope not. Electronic devices should never replace printed books. It just isn't the same!

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    chspublishposted 13 years ago

    I think it may happen later rather than sooner. As humans I think we are pretty slow to change that quickly. Some bookstores will close, but if they rise to the challenge of how to keep their readers coming to their stores, they may gain. Change for the bookstore may involve having the dreaded Kindle and Nook readily available as a usable device. These devices will be  seen as a novelty at first and stores should capitalize and sell them.  And so on... it's a question of rising to the challenge of change. Along with a decline in some bookstores, there will be a decline in the printing industry. but rise to the challenge I say and make the appropriate changes work for you.

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    awoodogposted 13 years ago

    I hope not, but looking at video stores like blockbusters it is hard to say. I mean who'd have thought thirty years ago the art of conversation would be lost with a little thing like texting????

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    shape_shifterposted 13 years ago

    Ever try to "peruse" an e-book store, unsure of what, if any title you might leave with? Doesn't work out like you think, does it? No, there are simply too many "collectors" among us... but from an author's standpoint, this change in technology definitely warrants a change in our approach to the publishing game... change strategies to include the huge innovations of our times, or forever fade into the obscurity of the vast WWW... I wrote a hub that gets into this more than I possibly could in just a post... Please excuse the shameless self plug: http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Effect-of-E … ok-Readers Enjoy!

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