The book business is changing faster than I ever imagined possible. How it all shakes out in the end is anyone’s guess, but in the meantime I’m filled with a mix of excitement and fear.

The newest development, of course, is the closing of Borders (including Borders Express and Waldenbooks).

I bought my first Stephen King novel at an upstairs/downstairs Borders I used to visit during my lunch hour back in the ’70s when I was working in downtown San Jose. The book was the original paperback of ‘Salem’s Lot, with the all black, embossed cover and the single drop of red blood. Best cover ever.

Barnes & Noble drove the first stake into the heart of Borders, much like it did to many independent bookstores throughout the country. It was bigger, cheaper, and friendlier. And I think Borders was caught off guard. They seemed to struggle with their identity after that, not sure exactly where they fit in.

Amazon.com drove the second stake into Borders. Suddenly, readers could buy just about any book imaginable right from home, at a great price, and have delivered to their doorstep in a couple of days. The selection even out did Barnes & Noble, as did the prices.

If that wasn’t enough to sound the death knell for Borders, the digital revolution drove in the final stake.

So what do we have left? Barnes & Noble and those few independent bookstores such as Dark Delicacies that learned to meet the needs of its customers in ways no other booksellers could. And the digital revolution, of course.

There’s no question ebooks are here to stay. They will continue to take a larger and larger share of the marketplace. The reading experience of an ebook is on par with a real book. The prices are cheaper. And you can carry about hundreds, even thousands of books with you wherever you go. (Every move I’ve made in my life has been a nightmare because of all the books in my collection. Even after I’ve culled at least 25% of the titles.)

In the future, I imagine ebooks will become more and more interactive. A child’s picture book, for example, will have moving pictures. It will be tempting to turn stories into audio/visual experiences, requiring readers to do nothing more than listen and watch. But that’s not a particularly good idea in my opinion. The imagination is too important to sit on the sidelines while all the work is done for it. Unfortunately, if something can be done, the human race has a tendency to do it, even when the obvious results may be detrimental to its own survival.

But I’m rambling now.

Will real, hold-in-your-hand, smell-the-paper-and-binding books disappear and therefore the bookstore experience we’ve known for all of our lives?

Most authors will argue that there will always be hard copy editions. I’m not sure if this is wishful thinking or not. I suspect there will be a transition period when readers will be able to go to a bookstore, peruse display books, decide on a title, then either have it instantly downloaded to their reading device or have a hard copy printed on demand. But eventually, it’s going to be harder and harder to argue for “real” books. Even signed, limited editions will transition into the digital age.

Evolution happens whether you want it to or not.

Someday, long after I’ve been dead and buried, digital books will give way to a newer technology. Perhaps entire books will be instantly downloaded directly to your brain, where you’ll have perfect recall of every single word. And it will be a sad day for ebook lovers, just as today is a sad day for hard copy book lovers.

But I believe there is one saving grace in all this and that is … there will always be stories to tell.

How they’re told and how they’re distributed will continue to evolve, but stories will always be told.

I’ve recently published The Many (my first novel) and Through Shattered Glass (my first short story collection) on the Kindle. Now, I’m looking to bolster the number of Amazon.com reviews for the two books. To accomplish this, I’m offering a free pdf copy of each book to the first ten people who agree to review the book on Amazon.com

Interested?

Drop me an email (David B. Silva), let me know which book you’d like to review, and I’ll send you a free pdf copy of the book.

And for those who just want to read the books, you can purchase a copy on the Kindle or the Nook:

• Through Shattered Glass – Kindle
• Through Shattered Glass – Nook
• The Many – Kindle
• The Many – Nook