Print Is Dead: Books in our Digital Age

Despite an intemperate opening chapter where the author vents some personal issues with people who, rather than embrace the ebook revolution, are simply content to "hug novels on bay windows on autumn days", this at times polemical work nonetheless settles down into a mostly sensible argument for a mostly digital future.
I say mostly digital because the weakest part of Jeff Gomez's argument is that he does not tackle the full range of print culture whose demise he is predicting. He also underestimates the sheer wonderful irrationality of those of us who appreciate printed books not only for their content (which cannot be deleted, mashed up or changed) but for the tactile and other pleasures they bring by virtue of them being bound paper show more objects.
I think the most important message in this book is not for readers (who, let's face it, can do what they want when it comes to choosing how they consume text), but for publishers of content, especially traditional book publishers. By all means give the public printed books if that's what they want, but realise that most information these days is on networks and in digital form. See this as an opportunity. Expand the possibilities of how stories are told, sold and exchanged.
Print is not be the medium of choice anymore. Maybe it is dead, or dying. But I still buy, borrow and read books. And put them on LibraryThing, a tool of Web 2.0 that, if anything, only stimulates the culture of acquiring printed books. Ironic. show less

Jeff Gomez takes on a rather academic subject in a manner that is refreshing, avoiding the serious stuffy tones that often goes along with such publications. A quick read, as I was able to work through it in only a couple hours time at the university library.

However, I must say this book suffers from some very sloppy editing. I noted typos, errors in the works cited pages, as well as a reference at the end of the book to the first section of Print is Dead with a title which I assume was the section's working title. Perhaps this was corrected on later editions, however...

I am prejudiced to reading anything when it comes to print going out of print, but an open mind I try to keep as it comes to technology and our precarious future. I found this book to be well put together, and it did explain in the past, there were times when print fell into disarray, only to return at various times-stronger. I highly recommend this book for those with interest in the publishing world and an open mind to accept what's to come.

Interessant, goed onderbouwd, maar wat drammerig en niet echt geheel overtuigend boek dat een blik wil bieden op de toekomst van de print-media. Papieren boeken zouden volgens de auteur veel sneller dan verwacht slechts een niche-markt voor collectioneurs worden. De auteur, internet-marketeer van Holtzbrinck Publishers, heeft natuurlijk een grote achtergrondkennis over de uitgeverswereld, Web 2.0 en andere digitale ontwikkelingen van de voorbije jaren. Maar een aantal echt praktische bezwaren tegen e-books worden te oppervlakkig weggewimpeld of zelfs niet vermeld. De vergelijking tussen de ontwikkelingen in muziek en filmwereld van de laatste jaren en de printmedia gaat mijns inziens niet geheel op. Ook literatuur en non-fictie worden show more wat te veel over dezelfde kam geschoren. Dat de papieren kranten en tijdschriften het de komende jaren steeds moeilijker zullen krijgen wordt overtuigender beargumenteerd. show less