No more books? Tell me it isn't so.

I was following a blog recently about the changeover going on in the reading world from physical copies of books to e-books using one of several new electronic readers on the market. Whenever I see such discussions, my heart sort of sinks at the thought of the potential demise of the published, hold-in-the-hands books. But not everyone shares my sentiment.

There are those who talk of how "green" it would be not to cut down trees to publish books. Some forget, however, that electronics are made to be replaced and what we buy today will come in a new, improved format within a couple of years. Think eight-track tape players, the cassette years, and on to CDs; the Beta vs. VHS period for videos (anybody remember that?) that preceded DVDs; and now we've come to the downloadable nature of almost everything. Proper disposal of no longer useful electronics and their batteries continues to present something of a problem.

Of course, there are those who predicted the personal computer would do away with a need for paper, but many of us still file copies of what comes off the computer and we like to be able to see it in that format for easy reference and writing on. We're not necessarily technophobes, but some of us have preferences that don't involve going into cyberspace territory all the time.

Part of the discussion I found interesting included the images of a home with no books on the shelves, or no more libraries or bookstores in which to savor new titles while browsing. In my house I'm constantly trying to decide which books I can do without, usually donating some, so I can fit in new purchases. I can see the space saver angle of the new readers. But I can't imagine a home without actual books.

On the blog, people were envisioning a time in the not too distant future when children won't have all those physical book selections around them to see and touch, and even smell, cues that engage the senses in ways that we can't conceive of if books disappear from our reading experience. Will klids be as receptive to picking up on reading themselves? Some say that the gadgets will make them more likely to read, however. Perhaps it's true.

It's still new territory as the various readers and acceptable formats take their places in the marketplace, but perhaps ours is a world where there wiill be room for both. At least for now. Bloggers point out that the onset of photography didn't kill paintings as it was predicted that it might (though it did, I suspect, reduce the need to pay people to paint portraits). Television and even home video hasn't completely replaced a movie theater, because there are still people who like to go out and watch on the big screen. E-mail and electronic transactions haven't completely wiped out the U.S. Postal service, though it has hit them where it hurts.

I still like knowing that if the power goes out and we've used up the batteries in the house, I can still read by the light of my hand-cranked lantern, because I'm not giving up my books yet. I reserve judgment on whether I will ever use a reader until I actually have tried one. In the end, it will likely be a question of balance. The book-reading devices will find their place. And we will all adjust and adapt.