Are Books an Endangered Species?

Cnnfn.com had an interesting headline recently: Is Print Dead?

Curious, I clicked on it and watched a video of Mark Cuban, of all people, talking to a reporter about whether or not he believed the end was near for print media.  Getting your news from an actual newspaper these days is a little like using an abacus instead of a calculator.  Personally, I cancelled my subscription for my local newspaper years ago for a variety of reasons.  And although the discussion with Cuban centered around newspapers and magazines, it got me thinking about books. 

Print books aren’t dead just yet — heck, I just bought two this past weekend.  On the other hand, high on my wish list is a new e-reader, although I can’t decide between the Kindle and the Nook.  (Yes, I’d love an iPad but that’s not going to happen this year.) 

Anyway, Amazon predicts its digital books could increase 84% this year.  Last Christmas, their digital books outpaced sales of their hardcover books.  The growth of digital books has been, and looks like it will continue to be, nothing short of meteoric.  What’s not to like? You get what you want, when you want it, cheaper, and usually within 60 seconds. 

While I’ll probably continue to buy the occasional hardcover book, mostly because I love to visit my local bookstore, I’d say that while hardcover books are not dead they are most certainly on life support.

What’s your take on this? I’d love to find out.