Packaging

According to the latest report from the AAP, e-books sales now account for nearly 30% of the publishing industry. In fact, it seems that everybody and their pet panda bear is prophesying the end of publishing as we know it, and the death of the print book. Thing is, it’s starting to sound as if they’re right.

What surprises me, however, is how many people hate the idea of print books becoming something obsolete, or at least something akin to collector’s items, and e-books taking over as the dominant format for books. But why? From what I can tell, the number one reason readers don’t like e-books is...

“I love the feel of a book in my hands; the sight of them on my bookshelf. If e-books take over, I’ll be stuck reading on a e-reader... where every book looks and feels (and smells) the same.”

I love the feel of a brand new hardcover book in my hands. And yes, I’m one of those especially weird people who can tell if a book has been published by Thomas Nelson or WaterBrook or Zondervan, etc. just by the smell of its pages. But for some reason, all my e-books smell like my Kindle. They’ve effectively taken away the print book’s individual character, and cloned it to look just like the rest.

But step back and think about it for a second. We’re not even talking about the book anymore. I always thought that a book was made up by it’s content; by the stories held between its cardboard covers. But now, it seems we’re worried that the boxes our entertainment come in might be replaced by something a bit less fancy. Say, for example, you had the choice between listening to a CD on a walkman, or an MP3 file on an iPod. Of course, you’d choose the iPod. Why? Because it’s more convenient, not to mention less expensive. So why, when faced with the choice between a print book and a digital book, do we choose the more cumbersome and expensive option? It seems to me we are acting like little kids on Christmas; playing with the packaging and ignoring the toy inside.

Now, I still buy the majority of my music as CDs, just because I’m weird like that. I like to see my collection grow on the rack beside my bed. I like to feel the cases in my hands and flip through the artwork. But I wouldn’t even think of buying a CD if I couldn’t play it on my iPod. For some reason, publishers don’t offer this for books. After spending as much as a five dollar premium for the print edition versus digital, you’d think the publisher would let you put it on your e-reader for no additional cost. And just as it is with my own music collection, lots of people would probably buy the majority of their books in print, yet still be able to read them however they like, in the most convenient way possible.

This is why most people (along with their pet pandas) will make the switch to e-books sooner rather than later. It’s cheaper, more convenient, comes with instant delivery... and it works just as well as the version with the fancy packaging. Because when it comes down to it, what we’re really after isn’t really books, it’s good stories.