More on E-book Revolution

     I am closely following our transition from books to e-books.  It is happening faster than I could have imagined.  Much like the disappearance of record stores and movie rental stores, book stores are anticipating a similar fate.  "Quick Change In Strategy For a Bookseller" in the NYTimes caught my eye with these quotes:

1. "In the first five months of 2009, e-books made up 2.9 percent of trade book sales. In the same period in 2010, sales of e-books, which generally cost less than hardcover books, grew to 8.5 percent, according to the Association of American Publishers, spurred by sales of the Amazon Kindle and the new Apple iPad."
2. "Carolyn Reidy, the chief executive of Simon & Schuster, said in an interview that e-books currently made up about 8 percent of the company’s book revenue. She predicted that it could be as high as 40 percent within three to five years."

     Also found in the same paper is an article about author Pete Hamill - "Pete Hamill , Patriarch of Print, Goes Direct to Digital."  This well regarded, well read author will not be printing his next book, They Are Us, but will have it published digitally.