That is the question.
Or is it?
The amount of chatter coming from publishers, authors, illustrators, agents, has risen to tornado force on the subject of e-books versus print books. Some of the issues are valid ones – others are Cassandras shrieking in terror as they foretell the death of reading.
Since I’ve been a reader for as long as I can remember, I’ve been puzzling over this fiery debate. After a couple of weeks trying to gain some solid information on the electronic revolution, I hope I can share some of what I feel is valid, and what is paranoia.
First comes the paranoia. Through author blogs such as mine, and despair sobbing loudly forth from Facebook and Twitter, most children’s book authors are upset over the coming death of books printed on paper, with ink. “But I love the smell of books,” wail many. “A child can’t cuddle up with an iPad!” wail others. They blame the current slump in the book publishing industry on e-books, apps, and big, bad Amazon.com.
But is that really the issue? I’d give anything to have been the fly in the wall when Johannes Gutenberg produced his first books printed on paper, not vellum, with ink on moveable type, not quills and brushes.
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