It is sometimes said that paper books will be eventually displaced by the emergence of ebooks, although some oppose the idea, arguing that paper books will endure. In my opinion, while ebooks will take away a considerable share of the book market from the traditional kind, paper books will continue to be a popular item due to the advantages gained from being a physical item.
By not occupying a physical space, ebooks gain several benefits, including ease of distribution, lower cost of production and a more user friendly experience when used for quotation purposes. Traditional books need to be transported from the production center to each bookshop using big trucks, making it a slow and polluting process. On the other hand, ebooks can be sent over the internet almost instantaneously and have no cost of production, making it more accessible to consumers. Furthermore, it is significantly easier to quote a phrase from an ebook, copying and pasting digitally into a document, than having to copy it by hand from a paper book.
However, paper books offer a completely different experience to the reader, while also making for a great product for collection. Without having to rely on a battery or internet connection, paper books can be taken just about anywhere and while digital devices can distract the reader from their books, traditional ones pose no such threat. Moreover, fanatics of book series can collect special editions of their favorite copies and display them as decoration in their households.
In conclusion, while I agree that electronic books will eventually take over most traditional book releases, I believe that paper books offer a distinct reading experience that ebooks cant make up for.