A Discussion about E-books

Yesterday I watched the PBS Newshour while preparing my dinner. It just happened that a segment about e-books was part of the broadcast. The three guests who took part in the discussion with Geoffrey Brown were author Scott Turow, representing the perspective of writers; an editor from one of the major publishing companies; and the owner of an independent bookstore in Denver.

All of them agreed that e-books are currently only a small fraction of the market; the overwhelming majority of books sold in the United States are traditional books. Each of the guests, though, had different opinions of what impact E-books will have in the future. The editor was uncertain whether the publishing industry would benefit from increasing e-book sales, particularly if it means decreasing sales of traditional books. E-books, after all, tend to be sold at a price that is considerably lower than hard-cover books. Scott Turow talked about the changing business of being a writer. Although the barriers to publishing are being lowered, it is still unclear how an aspiring author would distinguish himself or herself from the increasingly crowded realm of digital publication. The bookstore owner did not fear that e-books would destroy the bookselling business. She believes that there will always be readers who want to go to a store to find and purchase books made with paper.