Gordian Knot
Being deviant IS my art.
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2012
- Messages
- 506
As one who (tries) to make his living in the used book world, this subject gives me plenty to think about. I would be curious, and grateful for your views on this topic.
Specifically.
There have always been 3 typical kinds of people who like books.
There are the Readers. They have no interest in the book beyond reading it. They are the ones who have traditionary purchased used paperbacks, or checked books out of the library.
Then there are the Collector/Readers. They love reading as much as the Readers, but that is not enough for them. CRs want to have the physical book itself. A book club edition will not do. They want a first printing, or even better, a signed limited edition.
Finally there are the Collectors. Sure they read some. But their primary interest is acquiring the books themselves. Books become collectibles to these folks. Their interest is in having the rarest books they can afford, in the best possible condition they can find them.
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The Brave New World of the electronic reader changes everything. It essentially eliminates the second two categories. You cannot buy a signed limited copy of an E Book. There has been some attempt to market "signed" E Books, etc., but it is silly and just a gimmick. You cannot preen over the beautiful E copy of a Hemingway first printing. No such thing exists in the digital world.
Unsurprisingly, I see the breakdown most predominantly by age groups. Younger people have been trained that everything comes from the Internet. Books, movies, music. Most seem fine with this. They have little to no need to own physical copies of things.
Middle aged (termed as such only to separate them from the young and the old) have bought physical books most of their lives. An interesting movement amongst this group is that they buy the E Book to read, but the books they really like, they head to the used book stores to acquire a physical copy of the first edition. Because the collector in them still desires the physical book.
The Older aged, as you might expect, for the most part are unimpressed with E Books, unless they were part of that first group of Readers already. Otherwise these folks are most comfortable with a physical book they can own and hold. Most of them are not interested in changing.
Obviously as the years go by, the turn to E Books will rise as the elderly die off, and the middle aged follow.
Is there a place for physical books in this new world? If so, what kinds of books do you see as surviving?
Specifically.
There have always been 3 typical kinds of people who like books.
There are the Readers. They have no interest in the book beyond reading it. They are the ones who have traditionary purchased used paperbacks, or checked books out of the library.
Then there are the Collector/Readers. They love reading as much as the Readers, but that is not enough for them. CRs want to have the physical book itself. A book club edition will not do. They want a first printing, or even better, a signed limited edition.
Finally there are the Collectors. Sure they read some. But their primary interest is acquiring the books themselves. Books become collectibles to these folks. Their interest is in having the rarest books they can afford, in the best possible condition they can find them.
________________________________________
The Brave New World of the electronic reader changes everything. It essentially eliminates the second two categories. You cannot buy a signed limited copy of an E Book. There has been some attempt to market "signed" E Books, etc., but it is silly and just a gimmick. You cannot preen over the beautiful E copy of a Hemingway first printing. No such thing exists in the digital world.
Unsurprisingly, I see the breakdown most predominantly by age groups. Younger people have been trained that everything comes from the Internet. Books, movies, music. Most seem fine with this. They have little to no need to own physical copies of things.
Middle aged (termed as such only to separate them from the young and the old) have bought physical books most of their lives. An interesting movement amongst this group is that they buy the E Book to read, but the books they really like, they head to the used book stores to acquire a physical copy of the first edition. Because the collector in them still desires the physical book.
The Older aged, as you might expect, for the most part are unimpressed with E Books, unless they were part of that first group of Readers already. Otherwise these folks are most comfortable with a physical book they can own and hold. Most of them are not interested in changing.
Obviously as the years go by, the turn to E Books will rise as the elderly die off, and the middle aged follow.
Is there a place for physical books in this new world? If so, what kinds of books do you see as surviving?
