Hardcovers gone forever?

An article in the Huffington Post today by a book-publishing insider suggests that while the Kindle and other e-book readers may not kill off all books, they are likely to kill off the hardcover format. Anyone who has been observing the growth of the Kindle market may have noticed the type of people using Kindles. Aside from young people who are encouraged to use them by some schools, Kindle users are often teachers, librarians, publishers, writers and other avid readers. For years many booklovers (and almost all young people) have preferred paperback to hardcover formats because of the convenience and size difference. The Kindle has taken the paperback to a new level of convenience--it is light and portable. Many, if not most, books are read in places other than home. They are read in airports and on airplanes, in hotels, on commuter trains. Their transportability is important, but conventional hardcover books don't recognize that. Paperback books in recent years have been growing bigger and heavier, more like hardcovers, but that's a move in the wrong direction. In a world that prizes portability and convenience, hardcovers may well have lost their place. Publishers beware!