Why continue mulching trees to make paper to print physical objects that aren’t getting purchased anyway?

[40k]

"'The Future of Books: A Dystopian Timeline' (posted this week on TechCrunch) paints a picture of the future of publishing, and in this world, digital publishing will supplant traditional publishing as soon as 2025, at which point people like me will be the last hold-outs, futilely clinging to our nostalgia for ink on paper.

I mean, it makes sense. Why continue mulching trees to make paper to print physical objects that are heavy, take up space, and aren’t getting purchased anyway? Why have stores that take up valuable physical space when you can store a library’s worth of knowledge on a few hard drives, and carry around a collection in your backpack? The timeline predicts that by 2020 nearly every student from middle school to college will have an e-reader, obviating the need for textbooks."
Want to Hear a Really Scary Story?

What do you think, as a reader?
What do you think, as a writer?

[Mickey]

While I enjoy my Kindle, I can't give up printed books. To me, there's just something comforting about inhaling the scent of old pages and finding the odd assortment of objects I've used for bookmarks. I love to spend hours browsing in old bookstores (well, the few that seem to be left)and that's just not something an e-book can provide.

However, what I DON'T miss is the ache of hauling a bag of books with me on every trip I took. My Kindle is GREAT for traveling and lets me cram more stuff in the carry-on bag so that I don't have to pay checked baggage fees or fight my family for space in the trunk!

[Elle]

I agree totally, I love my kindle but also read plenty of 'real' books too. At the moment there is a place for both printed books and the e-reader, but as with the music industry model and the increase in downloaded music, we will see a change in technology cause a change in our reading habits and the rise of the e-reader will mean an inevitable decline in our bookstores. It is usually cheaper and easier to buy an e-book than the printed version and who doesn't want that? I will miss waterstones when its gone but even before the kindle I found it expensive and often not stocked with a book I wanted to read. maybe we will see more use of libraries for people wanting the real book experience and the feel of just browsing through authors and covers