Printed Books Fight For Survival

Books have always faced challenges. Cost was the first obstacle. Gutenberg’s early Bible sold for roughly three times what a clerk earned in a year. As prices dropped and books circulated more widely, the power of their words occasionally led to conflict. Anything from “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland” (1865) to “The Da Vinci Code” (2003) risked running afoul of some government or church censor. Bostonians torched Quaker books in 1656. Halfway around the world, Afghans rampaged last month after word spread that U.S. military personnel had burned copies of the Quran. Yet the biggest challenge books face today is not controversy – it’s obsolescence. Last year, sales of electronic books surpassed printed ones at Amazon.com. And that trend is likely to grow as the cost of e-book devices drops/ Mike Guilfoil , SR. More here . (Colin Mulvany SR photo: North Central High English teacher John Marshall, right, and student Ethan Dahl say books are important to them)

Question: Do you still buy print books?