[eikaterine]

Funny, I would never have guessed that the book world had been rocked by such a revolution so relatively recently. Had I been asked about this yesterday I'd have guessed that the book industry had been relatively undisrupted between the invention of the Gutenberg printing press and the invention of the e-book.

That being said, it warms this bibliophile's heart that a previous revolution did not obsolete hardcover books. Perhaps they'll stick around through this one as well.

[re_todd]

But who can afford them? I went to Barnes and Noble a week ago, browsing the new release section, and the two books that looked interesting that I thought about buying cost $28 and $26. I quickly put them back and decided to investigate the Kindle versions or wait for them in paperback.

[eikaterine]

Do you really think that spending $28 on a book is prohibitively expensive or are you playing devil's advocate? I've certainly bought computer games for $50, I definitely spend more than $28 per month on coffee and other incidentals. I wouldn't necessarily buy a book that I know nothing about for $28, sure, but a book that I know and love, or one that's a classic? I'm not made of money, but I can certainly afford $28 for that, especially since I also know it'll look great on my bookshelves for years to come and won't fall apart after 3 readings like a mass market paperback.

[hessenwolf]

For me, cost per hour of involvment cost, game < book << dvd, sometimes with the double angle brackets on the left and sometimes not on the right. However, I don't re-read novels, and only re-skim technicals.

[eikaterine]

If you never reread something, I'd argue the best route for you is a library, as opposed to buying. Especially now that some of them even lend e-books.

[tjr]

Most books I own, I have never seen in any library near me. I'm sure this varies from region to region, but I stopped getting much value from the public library in high school, and started collecting my own. Even my university library where I went to school, with its plethora of fascinating books, has little overlap with the shelves in my house.

[ams6110]

Books I really like I re-read many times. But for the most part I agree, probably 80% or more get read only once.

Reference type books I will use a lot, I still prefer paper books over reading on a screen for anything more than quick lookups.

[verisimilidude]

I don't think hardcovers are going anywhere. The hardcover book already represents a premium product. That may remain the case even if/when ebooks rot out the paperback market. They make great gifts, look good on shelves, hold up in libraries, etc.