Goodbye to print books?

Occasionally at my health club I see people reading while doing various things. Mostly the books seen are print ones. However, there also are a number of Kindles in evidence as well. According to this article, they are part of a rising trend. One that (supposedly) witnessed 43 percent of Americans read an eBook in 2011. This is all well and good, because reading is still reading, be it a paperback or an eBook on a Kindle.

Still, electronic books should not replace print ones. Print books are ultra-low tech, which means they can survive being dropped dinged but intact. Drop a Kindle and you risk breaking it. There goes your book! Sure, if you drop a print book in a puddle it gets wet, but you can dry the pages out. Drop a Kindle in water and you risk wrecking it. About the only thing that can destroy a print book is burning it.

They say eBooks are easier to read in bed. Theoretically, maybe, when compared to a hardbound or coffee table book. But a paperback book is ultra-easy to read in bed too.  The difference in that regard is more semantics than facts.

An electronic reading device is compact and transportable, yes. But where is the sense of magic and wonder from contemplating the pages encased between a print book's covers?  And what about how Benjamin Disraeli once said "Books are companions even if you don't open them?" An E-Reader is just another electronic device with a blank screen when not in use. If print books are companions when not opened, E-Readers are aloof strangers when switched off.

Yes, paper comes from trees, and deforestation is a plague on this planet, but recycled paper can be used for books. The justification that eBooks save paper is thus another matter of semantics.   

While I have read a couple books online in eBook form, I prefer the print variety.  What type do you prefer?   And do you think print books are doomed or will they successfully co-exist with eBooks? I myself think the smart money would be on co-existence.  You can digitize a print book, but you can't digitize the unique experience their low-tech nature provides.

Article image courtesy Mashable.