For the past 10 years, people have been questioning the future of the book- actually, even for longer than that.
Now though we can see tat books are trendier than ever - people are reading again, writing again and why? Internet.
So, how do you foresee the future of the book 50 years from now?
Hace muchos años que uno de mis poquisimos vicio es la lectura y a pesar de que para mí leer un libro incluye tenerlo en las manos, tener la opción de dedicarlo cuando se lo regalas a alguien o que te lo dediquen si vas a una firma de libros, el olor del papel de los libros más antiguos que llegan a mis manos…creo que el futuro de los libros de papel va a ser la desaparición y la sustitución de estos por los libros on-line.
Conozco a muchisima gente que lee muy poco o nada, pero sí que es verdad que cada vez hay más lectores que bien porque les han hablado mucho de un libro en concreto, bien por la sana curiosidad de conocer los mil mundos y las mil historias que ofrece un libro, poco a poco van poco a poco van encontrando el gusto a la lectura.
Así que bien en formato clásico o bien en formato digital yo creo que los libro dentro de 50 años seguirán ahi, ofreciendo una realidad alternativa y diferente a la nuestra ( ya que por mucho que se base en hechos reales y no aparezcan hadas y elfos, no es nuestra realidad)
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Many years ago that’s one of my few defect is reading and although for me read a book implies have it in my hands, have the option to spend when the gift to someone you or what if you devote to a book signing The smell of the role of the oldest books arriving in my hands … I think the future of paper books will be the removal and replacement of these books by on-line.
I know many people who read very little or nothing, but it is true that every time there are more readers than good because they have a lot of talk about a book in particular, either by the healthy curiosity to know the thousand worlds and a thousand stories offers a book, and slowly they are finding pleasure to read.
So I think the book in 50 years there will continue, as a classic or in digital format, offering an alternative reality and different from ours (because even if based on real facts and not appear fairies and elves, is not our reality).
I don’t believe paper books will disappear.For me it is not the same thing with books on-line.It’s good to be able to read texts in the internet because in this way you can see if you are interested but then it feels nice to have the book in your hands and read it before going to bed or to have it with you in the subway or during a voyage.It’s a cute little friend..I do believe books will survive!
Love,
Lia
I am travelling on a train to Toronto. Reading our blog on a smartphone.
To me the future of books is not in question. They have morphed from the clay tablets,beaten papyrus or carved stone and bones to the marvel of photo publishing. Will they morph again? I cannot believe that they would not.
But let me offer a suggestion as to the direction.
I ask you to imagine if books did not exist today and we had only laptops and PDA smartphones.
What a wonder it would be for someone to invent the book as we know it now. It runs with no electricity, litium battery or energy cells. It is cheap to reproduce with no silicon chips or LCD arrays. The tecnology can be adapted by the poorest of nations for both creating and reading.Complex ideas and visuals can be enclosed and the translate directly into our “inner voice”. Making those ideas accessable to the most disenfranchised peoples.
Books can be stacked, abused, submerged in water and they keep on giving, often decades later. They are light and portable and easy to annotate
So what is their future? I believe it is in the direction of simplier, easier and cheaper. Being connected with the internet has not reduced the printing. It has not created the paperless office. Indeed paper use is at an all time high.
Books remain a warm friend that cannot be replaced by radio, television or media on demand and will do so for a very long time. .
As our society progesses, it is with no doubt that other new forms of media surfaces due to our advancements. This is what they term “new media”.
Of such an example is the internet.
Materials and information is easily accessible through this new medium and quite effectively so too. And with relation, even books can be read online, through the internet.
Again, I feel that this is a case of pros and cons.
The reason for the adverse use of the internet mainly voices down to the flexiblity and the connectivity of this medium; more than half of the world’s population is technology based.
But I personally feel that print media, or in this case, books, will be hard to replace. I’m sure many of us would rather hold a physical, conventional copy of a book then to read it online. Thus it would be hard to adapt and change.
Books are an awesome way to communicate ideas and convey stories and I don’t see a medium that can successfully overtake its role in a long time to come.
Some things will change and develop but for me, a decent book in my hands will beat staring into the digital screen hands down.
Cheers,
Kenneth
I believe books will always exist…the narrating thing is so physical to anyone…narrating a story to your friends or ‘narrating’ what happened to you during the day…So books will always exist
As far as i am concerned , i like the physical form of the book, turning pages and so on, because i love reading books under ‘my tree’ in the park..it is not that heavy, even for a heavy book, comparing to a laptop (and i cant take my laptop in the park, since there is no electricity (and sometimes the heat from the laptop- when it is on your legs- can harm the circulation for someone that has trouble with his legs, swelling and so on…))
However, the Internet helps anyone that wants to read some pages to see if he is interested in reading a book, and consider buying it..maybe in 50 years, books will be in a 3d form - i dont know…or maybe you ll buy a book and with a chip or something you will plunge in the reality of the books and be an observer..
However, i wouldnt change the feeling of turning ovver a page and finding something that speaks to my heart…–that feeling that gives me a pleasant chill or shake in my soul…
Love and Graditude (for writing books like these)
Annie
i forgot something important…another possibility in the 50 years..books are in paper…and trees are so valuable…the forests give life..And papers use water also..and water is so valuable too..So maybe the books will be with a different ‘paper’..perhaps biological paper or something other…or maybe a fake paper that has quite a resemblance with the paper as we know of..
i think thats it..
Love and Graditude again :)
I started publishing my book on the web a few months back, here: http://thebookofw.com
I like the idea that the book is available throughout the world. I can easily link to online maps, wikipedia and other sources. I can revise the contents on the fly. I can add rich content: videos etc.
The subject of the book falls to the non-fiction department, and consists of relatively disparate chapters revolving around a common theme, so the blog-type publishing form suits fine, in my view.
Of course, one must remember that internet is not available everywhere and for all. But, I’d guess that in 50 years, the whole globe is covered with fast speed data access.
Currently, books printed on paper are still much nicer and easier to browse and read. But given the rapid advancements in display technologies, I’d see that quite soon we will have a screen which looks and feels like a printed book, but is actually an electronic display. Add some solar panels, and you’ll have a device which consumes energy next to nothing. But still: we will have a strong emotional link to ink and pulp; we will want something that is tangible, static and nice to touch. And doesn’t give error messages.
It might be that comparing CDs to printed books provides some indication of the trend. Will our kids listen to MP3s or buy CDs? Are they going to flip the pages of an encyclopedia or search using Google? Do they have the same emotional link to printed paper?
Well, my kids are reading cartoons a lot - in printed form.
Creo que en definitiva tenderán a desaparecer. Solo aquellos que gusten de ediciones especiales podrán darse el lujo de compran uno de páginas, pues, puede ser que en un futuro, las hojas no sean necesariamente de papel, sin embargo, la practicidad de la lectura en línea superará a la lectura en instrumentos físicos. Veamos lo que ha sucedido con la industria musical, ya no es posible encontrar tan fácilmente discos de vinilo y mucho menos casetes.
Yo soy un enviciado de la lectura, y la verdad es que hasta el día de hoy no me es cómodo leer un libro en la pantalla de la computadora o en mi ipod, o incluso en teléfono. ¡Me aburren los audiolibros! Sin embargo creo que representa una excelente oportunidad para los autores: pueden escribir un libro en linea y a la usanza del siglo pasado, los capítulos serán por medio de entregas que con la ventaja de la tecnología podrán monitorear cuantos leen el capítulo, cuantos son recurrentes, y cuantos terminan de leer el libro.
Creo que al igual que los músicos, los escritores deben de adaptarse a un cambio en la forma de comercializar sus obras.
My dear Paulo,I am reading because of internet.I think a strong reason for reading more is finding topics able to reach human heart.Like you did.Always coming up with something new,interesting.Like J.K.Rowling did,same.I think this is the way.I dont know.me I like net,but I do prefer to hold a book in my hands.To feel the page,to see the real amount already read,to turn page,even the cover of the book.Feel.Maybe others think different,I do agree.I think book will remain under same shape,in same time appear books which talk,so on.But,we are near to movie lkie that,to radio.Book is good because you imagine the scenes,is widening your mind,your phantasie.I recommend to everybody o read more,but,during holiday,if I go into library,almost always I not encounter but few persons.I hope for the best,Literature is one of my first loves.
Dear Paulo,
I think they will resist on whatever material they will be printed and probably they will have at the end empty pages to put your own thoughts or to make different end, as I used to do when I was child.
The touch gives something more, when turning pages, underlining thoughts, you feel part of it on your skin.
It is like eating food lovely presented and you are free to add spices and ask someone else to join…that is book !
Love
Luce
Technological advances have never kept pace with cultural legacies and I suspect the same will be true of paper books even though both technological and environmental needs point towards their extinction.
Technology in and of itself never makes the previous one nonexistent, perhaps only just irrelevant for its original intent. We still own VHS tapes in the age of IPTV for nostalgia, or trust snail mail for certain documents that can easily be emailed.
Books are no different, and I suspect the kind of book will determine whether it lives in primarily electronic form or paper or a more environmentally friendly innovation that functions like physical paper.
The question is: What is the criteria worth the investment in a physical media like paper? I think the answer is probably answered with another: What is timeless? What do you think?
Como muchas cosas, 50 años hacia el futuro los libros seguirán existiendo. Pero todo parece mostrar que el mundo digital en el que vivimos en estos momentos seguira incrementando su popularidad, la cual seguira afectando la venta y uso de libros en general.
El libro es solamente una de los medios de comunicación descubiertos por la humanidad. A diferencia de la Internet, un libro no es interactivo, es decir que el lector y el autor no tienen la posibilidad de seguir comunicandose por medio del mismo libro una vez que este ha sido imprimido. Creo que esto de la interactividad es lo que mas afecta el uso de libros. Al igual sé que el Señor Coelho, mi persona y muchos otros más hemos encontrado una salución al problema de la interactividad utilizando la Internet.
Hi Paulo. How do you do?
My comments:
1) P-books won’t change. They are information (memory) devices, based on paper, representing the benefits and constraints of it’s technology stage.
2) E-books (at this moment) doesn’t represent any paradigm shift, because it is copying the old model, it’s only a digital p-book version.
3) Something completely new, for sure, should come in the future. I believe, we shouldn’t copy the “old way”, or as Ted Nelson says: the old “page model”…
4) Reading on-line is a completely different (and better) experience, but we are still inventing it.
Best regards,
-CS
Dear Paulo!
I’m sure paperbooks won’t ever disappear. Eventhou I (and many other people) looking for information from internet, books and novels will always be best on paper. You can’t take internet whit you to bath (well, maybe some communicator or things like that). And you cant just turn paper corner to bookmark the page you are reading from internet. You can’t underline internet same way you can make marks to book. I love the way books smell, old books a bit dusty and new ones with the smell of ink.. Books just will allways BE..
Blogs are differet from books, they are on their best in internet. Thank you Paulo for writing, books and blog. :)
-z-
I do not see paper books going away over the next 50 years. There is something about holding a book in your hand. There is something about having a great book you once read sitting on your shelf at home where you can look at it, talk about it with your friends, and be reminded that it just might be worth picking up and reading again.
However, I think on-line books are going to become more and more popular. But like audio books, they will become an alternative to paper books and not a replacement.
The internet is becoming so easy to access now. You have wireless internet available almost anywhere now. Laptops are getting smaller and lighter every month it seems. Batteries last longer, and soon I see laptops having solar panels on them for additional energy when being used outside.
I think there is still something to holding a real book in your hand, to going to a book store and walking around looking at the other books.
Technology may change the way we live but a paperbook to take with me anywhere is something i can’t replace even 50 yrs. from now.
Funny that you would bring this topic up. Recently I’ve found myself seeking out information, beyond my normal couriosity. I’ve been feeling nostalgic for childhood fairy tales and books that influenced me and guided me through being able to reference the story later on in mylife. I’ve been reading more and writing more. Over the past 2 years I’ve seen a change in the hunger of American culture or maybe it’s just my hunger has changed and there for I surround myself or infect the hunger of those around me. Or maybe it’s my age 24. People are starting to see through the smoke and mirrors and are beggining to search for substance and enlightenment in the world that we live in.
The primary culture since the industrial revolution has been money, neglecting the human spirit and pushing ones “personal legend” to the back burner in exchange for finacial stablity. So books and movies (Stories) are the one way that people will search for enlightenment. I personally feel that books are my own personal escape. Whether it’s writing in a notebook or drawing in a sketch book or reading a book it’s my door way into my imagination. WRITE MORE BOOKS!
Physical Product: Ironically, I think technology may still not measure up to the reading experience of a physical book. Such a very simple but very enjoyable object…
Publishing:If the trend of recent decades continues, all books will be published by one giant multimedia conglomerate publishing under several hundred different imprints so that the general public will be no more aware of the situation than it is now.
I think the result will be fewer and fewer authentic voices like yours and Tolle’s having a chance to get through. Btw, something I particularly admire about you is that you remain engaged with your readers. Most authors who have succeeded with trade publishers today have at most a perfunctory site with little to no reader interaction.
Certa vez um conhecido me contou que na corrida espacial entre russos e norte-americanos, desenvolviam-se tecnologias de como viver no espaço. Os norte-americanos levaram para o espaço uma caneta esferografica com uma tecnologia de ultima geração propria para a gravidade zero, enquanto os russo levaram lápis na viagem espacial.
Isso me faz pensar um pouco, temos tanta capacidade técnica para derreter rochas de minérios, porém desaprendemos como se faz o fogo primordial, sem depender de nenhum artefato pronto, como palitos de fosforo ou isqueiros. Desaprendemos de como se esfrega duas rochas asperas uma com a outra, produzir o atrito para se gerar calor e acender uma chama. Pode ser que fique um pouco fora de moda, mas nunca se tornará obsoleto. Um bom livro não se consome nem se descarta rapidamente.
I don’t know if a book can be substituted for an online book!!!
in a book I can fold a page where I am, I don’t know how can a mark it online, by the way I have never read a book online, having said that, in my books I highlight sometimes, something that I think is important, so I came remind myself when necesary, I reread my books, sometimes not the whole book, for example right now I am reading again The Pilgrimage, this time a little bit slower than the first time, what if the computer breaks down, you loose your files, that has happen to me!!!
I love books, I wouldn’t change them for anything, I have nothing again online books, but I like my books and I keep buying them!!
Who knows where we are going to be in 50 years though, that is not clear to me, after 2012, after going through the photonic belt, after the polar shift, everything is uncertain, probably we’ll be walking between the worlds in the “no time”. In the meantime let’s enjoy books!!!
Vivan los libros!!!
Eu acho que os livros são mágicos. E são assim pela magia de suas histórias. Que são assim pela beleza da Alma de seus escritores.
Acho que os livros existirão eternamente, mesmo com a internet fornecendo suas histórias.
Particurlamente eu amo folhear meus livros , porque gosto desse gesto.Os livros tem uma beleza particular para cada Alma que o procura.
Beijos,
Mari Raphael.
To be very honest, I feel that books will always exist, the way it is right now, at this point of time. There will be modified substitution versions. May be there will be some more progressive stuff than e-book databases and all suchlike things. But book lovers will always stick to books. It may be psychological that I can feel and extract the essence of writing from a book more than anything else! We go for those virtual-world reading facilities but books will never lose its glory especially for those who have this penchant for voracious reading. I think Mr. Paulo Coelho will also agree with me as a reader….from a reader’s viewpoint.
papyrus, hide, paper, e paper, e books, ?
Fifty years isn’t that long (in the great scheme of things), but if you look back (or try to imagine ;-) fifty years (1958) which was when the idea of global networking was born, who would have thought it would have evolved to what we use today.
So consulting the Oracle is not that hard, the tools are in place. Evolution is inevitable… (as long as it has financial backing and public support of course).
(As I will be 90, I just hope you can enlarge the print . . )
Good afternoon. =)
It is evident, that new technologies bring some advantages and disadvantages. It is very easy and fast to download any information from the Internet, to save huge amounts of information in your notebook ( or pocket PC ).
So, in new informational era, we net some technical resources, which enable us to get and save information in a more easy way.
But nothing will replace a spirit of book. For me it is much more pleasant to read books which I really enjoy in a printed version. Books are the part of a culture, so, they are bringing the spirit of wisdom.
I am sure, technics is able to replace everything, but, as for me, it can’t bring you the atmosphere of a book, which you really like. That’s why, I am not able to say about everybody, but I will always read books.
Sincerely yours, Ivan.
Fra 50 anni? Io spero che ci siano ancora libri da tenere fra le mani e da sfogliare, internet è un grandissimo mezzo di comunicazione…ma il piacere di mettere un libro in borsa e di leggerlo dove come e quando si vuole non ha eguali!
BAci
Barbara
Boujour à tous,
Comme la librairie A plus d’un titre le signale sur ses marques pages : “Si le livre avait été créer après l’ordinateur, ça aurait été une avancé technologique extraordinaire”.
Bonne journée
Damien
That’s such an interesting question. Human beings have an almost genetic need to document their own existence through stories, other animals are contented with temporary territorial markers that simply say “I was here” and wash away with the next rain. Not us, we want permanence, we want to won our territory, forever; we want land titles, iron clad wills that pass our estates to our progeny and etched stone grave markers that tell our stories after we are gone. We weren’t happy just sitting around a campfire telling stories of the hunt, we painted the hunt on our cave walls for all to see. When Guttenberg came up with the printing press we were no longer happy with expensive, laborious hand written volumes for the privileged few, we wanted mass-produced volumes for all to read. Our need to tell our stories will never go away, the format in which they are told, however, will always be flexible. We love books, we love their smell, their weight, the sound pages make when they are flipped, the way they stack and the way they look on shelves, but most of all we love the stories they tell. The question is, would you still love your favorite book if it had no smell, no weight, no pages to turn and could not be placed on a shelf? Could you love it just for the story it tells? You may have to. Paper requires a great deal of raw materials that are becoming scarcer by the day, and as we destroy our environment it too will become a thing of the past. Cave paintings and hand written tomes faded into disuse, books are teetering on the edge, my guess is that only etched stone grave markers will remain constant for us.
I think books will never disappear… But they may change to be status symbols. Nowadays books are really expensive in my country, in Hungary, so a lot of people simply can’t afford them. In some years, they will represent money and intellect - the things, which most of the Hungarians don’t possess because of our leaders. As we are so small country, we couldn’t be a rich nation, but we were famous of our knowledge, sciences - until a few years ago… So now we are turning to be the opposite we were. We can’t be an economic authority, but we should be what we can…
These facts are true not only in Hungary, but in East-Europe. :/
As you said Paulo thanks for the internet also thanks for the translators, who are doing good jobs nowadays to bring us the other cultures and countries pearls and golden books.In 50 years as life is going on with all kinds of pain,happiness ,poverty,wealth…etc and as far as there is a written word; books will continue to be number one as the human representative to keep life history alive.
When I was a teenager I used to read just what is available in the book stores ,and at that time it was limited subjects that we can get and read about,because of so many things like restricted freedom in my home country ,restricted number of translators from the various languages ,and the ignorance about the other cultures.
Looking at what is available now and in whatever version make me feel that I need more than 24 hours per day to compensate for what I’ve missed .Books will never vanish in 50 years ,100 years or as far as there is a civilization on this planet.
May be my language is not perfect to express my feelings,but I think it is understandable.
Thanks paulo for sharing us your wisdom.
love and regards to everyone.
zainab.
I see the books forever being! There are just some things that will last throughout time. Yes, we have technology forever growing~~~~~~~ i think i did hear something about the iBook (makes me laugh cause it just feels funny trying to read a book online. If I do download a book from online I end up printing it out on paper and then I have to carry a bunch of papers around praying that the staple doesn’t come out or that I don’t end up missing a page. Who really wants to carry loose paper or an iBook around when you can take a book depending on the size and slip it into your pocket, purse, or bag not weighing more than a couple of oz not worrying about if you have it fully charged up to get you through your flight or road trip or if you have the proper power supply for it depending on which country you are in. There is something about those beautiful pages the smell the feel, the typed print, the ability to take a pin or pencil and underline a profound statement printed on those pages.
I know how excited I get when I open the pages of a brand new book the first thing i do is rub my hands across the cover then bring it to my heart, and smell it. Its like my new best friend for the day, week, or weeks or months.
Funny last night having dinner with some friends i asked this one guy if he reads and he told me only work related things he doesn’t even check his emails! WOW! Nor surf the Internet. Then I started to question to myself “can he read”? What a pity for the ones who can not read and go most of their lives not being able to read, it makes me sad to the heart. But, I am sure he can read he is just too cute not to be able to read (LOL).
well all in all books are my time machine allowing me travel here in there in time.
It could go either way. People are going to either become even more trashy and shallow than they already are, as prescribed in the bible when love for others, love for God cease to exist. Or, there will be a great revival, and literature will again become freedom instead of a dying world.
As more human beings tap into and strengthen their innate power of telepathy, then words and ideas will be increasingly transferred in intangible forms. At present, human beings focus on forms of information exchange that are familiar. Yet, energy packets are mobile and constantly shifting in ways beyond the naked eye. As beings raise their awareness of how energy is transferred, they will no longer limit themselves to what they think they already know.
reading a book is not just about processing information anyhow. reading a book is about romance, romance with life. the freedom, the joy, the portability, the feel of an actual book a hard copy, or better still a hard bound copy; is priceless for booklovers, is irreplacable for booklovers of this generation. in 50 years, i suspect the printed books will continue to enchant the masses, quality of printing an longivity of the paper on which they are printed may change, but books are here to stay.
love
aditya
Querido amigo, Paulo!
Gosto de vir aqui para opinar, mesmo com as muitas tarefas que a vida me impõe…Meus pais eram pessoas com pouca instrução, mas nos impuseram e até nos incentivaram à leitura de bons livros e souberam levar a termo a educação dos filhos e com sucesso, todos nós chegamos aos bancos acadêmicos, o que era o sonho deles; devem estar satisfeitos, pelo menos nesse sentido, conosco. Além do mais, nos deixaram um grande exemplo de vida: meu pai, Pedro, minha mãe, Maria José, eu lhes agradeço de público! Bons Mestres escolares também foram essencias para mim. Enfim, o nosso esforço foi hercúleo, mas creio, Mago, que tudo foi válido…E estamos aqui, dialogando contigo e com todos os que aqui comparecem, fraternalmente. No perfil do nosso blog fazemos as citações de livros e autores que nos influenciaram, não consegui homenagear a todos, foram centenas (sem vaidade) e você, Paulo Coelho, lá tem seu lugar cativo. E não me importo com aqueles, de narizes empinados que, mesmo o lendo às escondidas, o criticam, ou melhor, o atacam ferozmente, com o pobre argumento de que não fazes “literatura”, se esquecendo que és lido de A a Z, desde a rainha da Inglaterra ao pobre operário que o lê no ônibus ou trem.
E tem mais, não és apenas um escritor, és um formador de opinião, és um verdadeiro Amigo dos teus leitores e disso eu tive uma experiência forte, pessoal…
Que Deus te conceda muitos anos de vida e mais Iluminação ainda. Tu és um Vencedor, mas NUNCA ESTARÁS SÓ!!!
Grande Paulo
Antes de opinar, apenas uma explicação, eu sempre irei escrever aqui em seu blog em portugues, minha lingua mae, tenho orgulho dela!
Bem, acredito que os livros nunca desaparecerao, ate mesmo porque é muito chato ler um livro sentado na frente do computador, forçando os olhos contra a luz brilhante das telas, a coluna cervical fica toda dolorida de ficar sentado horas na mesma posicao e, nada pode substituir o prazer de passar as paginas de um livro, o prazer de ter os dedos passando as paginas, sentir a textura das folhas, o cheiro de um livro novo ou de mofo de um livro antigo… computador nao vai te dar esses prazeres q sao muito simples e muito bons…
essa é a minha opiniao…
Por falar em livro, acabei de comprar o seu novo livro, muito bom, como sempre… ja consegui me idenfificar com um personagem!!
um forte abraço e ate o proximo comentario.
Saulo Lima
juiz de fora (MG)
a mi parecer en 50 años los libros de papel no desapareceran , si desaparecen los libros clasicos o mejor dicho si son remplazados por libros digitales ( internet) sera por nuestra propia elección,en mi caso no hay nada como tener un libro en tus manos y sentarte a leerlo en tu habitación o hasta frente del mar ; un libro clasico nos permite esa libertad pero, por otro lado esta la internet que permite interactuar con el autor de cualquier libro , quizas en 50 años exista una fusión de ambos libros clasicos ( de papel) vendidos conjuntamente con alguna especie de disco de computadora que tenga un software que te conecte con algun blog del autor , no creen!…………..
I always try to reply before reading the posts.. but this time i couldn’t stop reading in a couple of comments.. and i realize that even when Internet is taking control of all of us, books still have something that Internet doesn’t, Energy even thoug everything that’s on the web comes from our hands everytime a writer uses a piece of paper and a pen to put his thoughts in a book he also puts a piece of himself hopefully is a little piece because otherwise Mr Coelho wouldn’t be writting anymore (lol) but the thing is that when we are in a bookstore we have the chance to dicover a book, online we go to what we are looking for.
I believe that future of the books will be evolving as our wisdom and trainning do but it’ll never disappear.
We have so many good and important books in our lifes: The Bible, The Koran, all of your books Mr. Coelho. I like Toni Morrisons books as well, Agatha Christies books. They will never disappear from the earth and they are wonderful.
As long as the soul of the writer can be captured in they’re characters and storyline, I’m not sure what format, paper and print or digit will really matter that much. Stories, myths, legends,dreams, all need to be translated from the mind of the writer to the mind of the reader. It’s not how the form of delivery evolves as much how writers adabt.
But, for me, I have yet to walk into forest, sit down byside this great oak tree and open up my laptop or blackberry. Digital delivery, regardless of the mechanism, speeds up everything. And that doesen’t support my need to retreat and reflect. And I can’t write notes in the margin, not yet at least.
P -
I guess we are lucky to live in a written culture, even though we have lost something valuable from leaving the oral tradition. Now we can take part in a world wide wisdom, never before possible. The development from stone tablets to electronic bibles has taken thousands of years. How can we predict the future of books in the coming fifty years? What do we read the most, text books, novels, religious texts, blogs? In the beginning was the Word. Then communication appeared. Stories. Information. Share our understanding of the reality we are living in. Entertain each other. Learn new things. Who’s voice will be heard on the World Wide Web? Will we exhaust ourselves clicking deeper and deeper to links in hypertext? Of course it will be simpler to use for instance a dictionary in an electronic format. But how about reading novels? We love paper books. The problem is the enormous use of paper, and the fact that the Rain forests are being robbed, to a degree where it effects and threatens the life in the entire world. This I believe will force books more and more to have to be published online. Nothing is better than a story told fom person to person. Perhaps the electronic books will open up for CD-roms, where the author tell the story, almost like it used to be sitting around in the family rooms, community rooms, only now in a virtual world wide social room?
I love books -when your reading a book it becomes your best friend I think .I dont think books will ever go out of fashion ..thank Goodness ,but the Internet has helped enhance this I think -books are too personal for people -because even though you read the words your imagination is allowed to play the movie how you see it or view it .I just came back from a holiday and every where I looked someone was reading one of Paulo Coelho books ..I just smiled and thought how lucky for them to be on a holiday and reading /relaxing to such great books ..Love Tania
Não sabemos sequer do futuro do planeta em 50 anos. Interessante seria saber a opinião de um homem da caverna com suas pinturas rupestres e ou um aldeão com seu buril. O livro, forma de hoje facilitou sua presença em suas mais variadas utilidades.
Certo será que o passado deste mesmo planeta estará em livros. Ou quiçá esboçada em muros por meio pichações gritando realidades que não se quer notar!
Não sei se o livro impresso em papel; material que causa desmatamento, mudanças biológicas na vegetação, manipulação humana, monopólios, gera questionáveis empregos mas irrefutáveis riquezas; em seu mais importante papel que é manutenção deste nicho econômico mundial, deixará extinguir sua mais nobre funcionalidade: tornar-se um livro!
O futuro do livro independe de sua forma de apresentação. Desde que os conteúdos continuem mostrando a vida em todas as suas nuances. Pois idéias, capacidade de ser escritor, da criação à transmissão do que se escreveu num livro é ímpar, personificado, uma benção talvez. O que realmente importa é que atinja ao leitor. Não se pode perder é o direito à informação seja ela informativa ou de lazer.
Depende de nós multiplicarmos, cada dia mais fortemente, a inclusão da leitura e sua utilidade como hábito necessário. Fonte de prazer e de saber. Carmen
I vote books will live and fade and be reborn
To me they are human soul
i remember that i did not like read books at school. And when i became an adult i thought that books was boring. i did not like books at all,that’s all. but many years ago, i was realizing my dream : a big trip on my own from NEW YORK to L.A. through MEMPHIS and others NEW ORLEANS etc. My english was horrible at that time and something strange happened at the student inn hostel when i finaly was in LOS ANGELES. I was on the road for months and i had a big question: WHAT NOW ? WHY DID I COME so far from home? An answear came to me: a book found me, it was THE ALCHIMIST in french version, the only french novel around in the middle of the biggest city of the united states. i read that book in few hours ( i was not a good reader at all). today it seems to me that that book chose me and showed as wonderful a book can be. imagine my first trip through a novel : i was at the same time in L.A. (wich was one of my dream being there) and i was also with SANTIAGO living his own way of life teaching me how to discover my personal legend. HERE my answear to your question:
i truly believe that books have some energy. IT only depend of how much energy did the writer put into his novel. that’s why i have been feed by THE ALCHIMIST…so much energy in it and i would have never expect that i need so much energy. Books can not die… as long as they have a word to say.
Books are a treasure. It is difficult for us to put into perspective the value of printed bound paper when we have the internet. Imagine the scribes of old times. These people painstakingly copied word for word each text in their libraries in order to keep the items in print for the generations. They did not have digital composition software with spell checker. No switching fonts, no resizing margins, no copy and paste or mass mailing none of the organizational tools that most of us take for granted today. The scribes’ reading and writing of every word was their art from. Their spirit was drawn into every work that their hands passed over. If ever there is a day when the borders between one body of information and another become so thin that we must have a separate space in which to hold and to study the work of another’s hands then we will always have the opportunity to rediscover the value of the printed work.
Then again one may argue that it is in our ability even our willingness that divides us, to allow symbols to take the place of the spoken words which much more directly convey the mind of the speaker than any symbol. One may also argue that the written symbol helps to unite individuals that would have never made any connection otherwise. Would have, not could have. But it is the unwillingness to transfer our thoughts to one another without word or sound, this is what truly separates us. What is at the root of all of this?
I am very glad to hear opinions from many around the world on this subject. As far as the scarcity of paper from trees I think that we humans with today’s escalating technology could find a sustainable replacement for paper if we ever decide that we need the trees to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen instead. Whether or not we retain the use of the book could very well lie in the hands of our political will as was said from one from Hungary that books were very rare in an oppressive environment. Were books destroyed there? I don’t think that technology will completely replace the book. I can see that technology has made it possible for anyone with access to a computer and printer could print a book (binding it for permanence is a different story) and publishers have no control to stop them from printing or selling if it is truly their own work. I also believe that things could change a lot in the next fifty years, faster than things changed in the past fifty years, they already are. I think the information age will continue to have a tremendous impact on humanity shrinking our world, educating so many especially as we realize that our sun puts out much more energy in a day than we can possibly collect. Solar collectors and windmills will become cheaper and cheaper as soon as we realize the insanity of what using fossil fuels is doing to our world. Our power structure(s) politically and energetically could determine the fate of the book. As long as we have freedom we can have the written word. Individually, will we live our lives hooked up to a computer or will we simplify our lives at times and go out and sit under a tree? Will some of us dream of travel while we herd our sheep along the coast and need a book for both entertainment and a pillow?
Sweet dreams everybody!
Petri
books are gretest companion. books will never fade because books gives u scope to imagine the characters, situation. its gives you sense of belongingness and possesiveness.
moreover, its so b’ful. Whats better than a book to furnish ur b’ful house. a home is incomplete without book.
Ya que el ordenador no me lo puedo llevar a la cama, me seguiré llevando el libro a la cama que es donde me gusta más leer y claro dentro de 50 como la vista puede ser que no la tenga bien la alternativa que le veo es los libros audio, tanto para el mundo de los niños o de las personas mayores o incluso para los invidentes que no pueden leer pero que escuchan una historia y dejan volar su imaginación.
Dentro de 50 años aumentara la venta de libros ya que cuando descubres el placer de leer un libro te conviertes en un adicto de la lectura y necesitas un libro que te transporte a un mundo diferente, a un viaje sin salir de tu habitación.
Esto te lo debo a ti Paulo Coelho.
Hi
The future of Books
I wrote my first book from my dreams, I was woken up at 4am in the morning with all these stories in my head and I took that information from the universal cosmos , and put pen to paper first and then wrote the remainder on my computer.
Books will always be with us because they are International and national treasures. A quality bookcase filled with books tells us something about a person’s character.
Also most authors are highly imaginative and you cannot get from a laptop. The universal cosmos gives us the info and we give it back to the universe in book form.
Oh my books will always be with us
The gift you can give a friend, the solitary time it takes for the author to formulate from the mind to paper, very precious indeed.
Margaret from Ireland
I am also going to ask Paulo to come to Ireland and present his work
Chio
In fifty years, for sure, I will not be on this planet…
My books, my paintings, my music and some precious ornaments and jewels, will be here to remind my children of my ‘world’.
But this World, I am going to take with me. It is the beauty that has transformed me and added colours to my Aura, together with ..LOVE .
THELMA
Good day everyone!
This is my first time to enter the website of your blog and thanks for good stranger who happen to share it with me.
Honestly speaking, i am not a lover of books, it was only now that i’m starting to embrace the fact that books are essential to our life. I would like to personally thank you, Mr. Paulo Coelho for being an inspiration to a lot of people. I am one of you fan! I’ve just read one of you books “The Zahir” and i definitely enjoyed it! I’m looking forward to having a copy of some of your books and i’m really excited to read them.
Well, anyway, 50 years from now, i think that the future of books would still be the same. No matter how advance our technology is getting, no one can still replace the paper books that are published. Now, i understand why some people are trying their best to get their own copy of a particular book that they love. Books are considered a friend of man. It entertains you, gives you lifetime lessons and most of all it gives you a feeling that you are not alone.. for with every story you read, there is always a piece of yourself that you see in a particular character. Thanks to all the books, they make each day of our life less boring and something to look forward to.
Via
Books will not go, nothing beats going on a long journey and sitting on a train alone and looking up at other strangers travelling and looking at the book they are reading and by the end of your journey you are no longer strangers….thats what books have done for me and hope this never changes!
For me there is very simple reason why paper book should exist. I look at the computer screen a good part of the day every day and this is bad for my eyes. So in the evening I don’t want to look at the screen again - I want my paper book.
About reading books.
You said that more people than ever read books. But at this moment more people than ever exist. As a percentage there still could be less readers than ever. When reading a book each person creats it’s own movie, but still it’s easier to just look at the movie and not create one. I’m afraid that each generation has less imagination due to movies, computer games etc.
Love,
Kim
Posso com o meu humilde português participar do seu blog?
It’s bliss to hear you speak. There’s magic and sensations in your words, written or spoken, doesn’t matter.
No matter how much these technology and virtual world expands, book will always be there and nothing will ever be able to replace them, their smell, their feel, the magic, the power of these written words………..well they can never be replaced. Time will come and go but books will always be there, however their form may undergo changes with the changes in the surrounding environments.
hi
My opinion is .Books was is and will be forever here for people who are interesting of reading .i think why is boom of books now markantly see ,because people are tired of tv with full of realty shows with full of human stupidity and simplicity .The future of books are huge I think it will be reborn in these days and in the future.World is full of materialistic and consum people who dont have time for each other .They dont speak to each other how they feel .And one day they must stop and make a time for self .They took a book and relax ,imagine .As we know book is the best friend of people who like culture ,art at all .(ps excuse my english )
I do not every seeing books as in paper bound on one edge with text on the pages ever ending. Other forms as in digital may at some point be more popular. BUT I do not see that in my life.
As far as other digital media like TV or movies totally replacing word stories. I do not see that as ever. So long as ONE individual can sit down a write either on paper or on a computer. Stories through words will be there.
As too why Books are more popular today. There are more warm bodies on the planet thus the greater demand. Secondary in America our media is so controlled by big business. They have no clue as to what the public really wants. Secondary with so many people there are so many likes and dislikes. What is good for my neighbor may not be suitable for me
Besides I cheat. I listen to audio books while at work. I was able download one of your books from iTunes for free (The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream). I later purchased Brida, and The Witch of Portobello. and I will be purchasing the Devil and Miss Prymn.
Noppie
Look that… look this…
the stars still there, can you see?
all long we will try change the reflexionS?
language? no contact?
in the mirror every body can ready the same book, and never enter in the real history, the mirror will be there for long long time.
this is what I watch.
Dearest Paulo..
Sorry, i know this is a bit off topic.. But happy birthday :) i wish you all of the best and many many happy returns. Have a wonderful day..
Love you alot..
Thank you for being..
Yajna
Querido Paulo,
Yo siento y veo al libro “sobrevivir”, pues lo siento un tesoro mágico que nos transporta a un desarrollo y conexión interna muy importante. Ese momento a solas, con esas páginas, creando un momento siempre tan especial, creo que no se puede prescindir de ello.
Internet es una herramienta importante, pero hay cosas que son insustituibles, y la tecnología no puede reemplazarlo todo.
A real book will survive :) So please, Paulo, keep writing :)
Dear Paulo,
I am reading Brida right now and it is the most beautiful story I have ever read. You are a brilliant remarkable man. I posted a review on my website Gorgeous for God.
Thank you.
Love, lisa
Dear Paulo,
I think you are right that the written ,but also the audio and visual expression will be strongly enhanced by internet, because somehow internet evokes people to express themselves in all sorts of ways. I must even admit that being a poor reader of the classical book I somehow by the frequent use of internet gradually became more and more fascinated by written literature and also by the audiovisual expressions /text on the internet. Due to the reading of the beautiful stuff that I found through the internet, I am seriously considering to go write myself, because I realise that by writing you can feel or enjoy “the river” even much stronger than by reading.
As far as the future of the book concerns I observe that gradually all forms of expression are merging more and more on the internet. On your own website we see the beautiful river combining a beautiful comforting text about life with beautiful slides , (that is something different than a text with some poor drawings (by someone like William Blake two centuries ago). On “you tube” you can see music and beautiful lyrics accompanied by beautiful visual productions made by different people so reassembling the original authors text to new expressions and new meanings. The most beautiful thing is that we can easily select the expressions to which we feel related to. The internet therefore creates a creative space that will be very close to our lives (like everybody has its own royal library including connected audio and visual art expressions but also the possibility to contribute without interference of nasty publishers etc). For the moment this also creates the desire to buy the physical book. Whether the physical book will survive I am doubting. Two days ago, during my daily train trip from the Hague to Amsterdam (both in the Netherlands), I encountered a very fragile looking blond English lady, her face was a little pale and her noose a little hooked, but she had very friendly blue eyes, I could not estimate her age , the eyes looked wise and therefore seemed to be aged but the rest of her face was seemingly much younger. In her hands she had some strange very thin black device which she held up like she was reading what was on one side, leaving the black surface to my view. After some time I could not fight my curiosity any longer and overcame my shy ness and decided to start a conversation by asking her , what she held in her hands. Than she explained in a very friendly way that it was an e- book and that she could carry hundreds of books this way, since she was a fanatic reader (perhaps even writer, I did not have time to ask) and travelled frequently , she saved a lot of space in her suitcase. She showed me the side she was looking at and I saw a very readable text like I am writing now on the screen. At the same time I read the card attached to her luggage, reading some name like ..” Holly ….. and than I am not sure L’is le …. “. Than it all fitted, she was a witch or I was dreaming, unfortunately I had to leave the train at that moment not finding out who or what she actually was. But you can imagine that my doubt about the eternity of the physical paper book was born.. but was very comforted by the idea that the e-book will have a glorious future!
Victor van Rij
50 years from now, I think, which is possible, books will not be printed on a paper. Books will be published in a more sophisticated and technological manner. We will have then different and more advanced (out of the world) gadgets that will make paper and ink useless. Its possible. Come to think of it, flying cars have already been secretly invented, robots who think like humans are in-progress and etc… And the sad part is what if a device that can give you knowledge without even studying is invented 50 years from now? I hope not, because no one will be patient then to share a part of his/her time to read a good novel.
Anyway, I am glad I became a fan of your books. I like your books because its peppered with moral lessons. Like children’s stories. I am always satisfied with what I pay after reading a book you wrote. How I wish I have the ability to write good novels. I have mad ideas but I am not really into writing. But I am considering it and I am already making plans to study writing. I wish to meet you soon. Aryt.
Sua Luz é Eterna !
Beijos,
Feliz aniversário !
Tim-Tim !
Parabèns,
Mari Raphael.
happy birthday
Meu querido,FELIZ ANIVERSÁRIO!!!!
Desejo muitas felicidades…beijinhos…
Sua fã e discípula,Lu.
Dear Sir Coelho,
Your book the Witch of Portobello gave me a lot of strenght while in my journey in India. I’m so happy your books came accros me. I like to give my smiling thank you to you. Thanks!
Yesssssss Paulo… the book is on the table!!!
horas atrás mediei uma mesa com Fernando Morais e ele disse que era seu aniversário…pois então meus parabens ! onde quer que vc esteja planetária criatura. Gostei também da reportagem que meu querido amigo Ricardinho Franca Cruz fez com vc na Rolling Stone brazuca desse mês. A propósito ele me passou o seu recado e eu te respondo : também lhe quero bem e qualquer informação que vc tenha recebido nesses anos de que eu estaria chateado por conta de uma adaptação dos seus livros pra histórias em quadrinhos não procede. Nunca tive nada com isso . Nem sei de adaptações e nem participei de nenhuma conversa sobre isso. A única da qual participei há tantos anos foi aquela do Diario de um Mago para a Tv Manchete que você dizia gostar mas depois foi a Portugal pedir para o Doc dar uma olhada…águas passadas e o futuro lhe pertence! abraço
Ricardo Soares
I love this question. I love it because the book is not just a physical thing, but it is a magical device we have devised to share our souls. We have for years had fantasies and science fiction that speculates about what it would be like to be able to read people’s minds. Yet we have such a device here with us now, and have had for centuries. It is the book. It will never go away.
The internet is an exciting catalyst. I agree Mr. Coelho. And it also introduces us to new ways to express our thoughts, particularly in a non-linear way. Hyperlinks provide that new dimension to storeytelling. Additionally, Web 2.0 applications that provide menas for User Provided Content create opportunity for something more significant: Community Created Content. We may indeed create a truly new way to build a history of ‘tribes’ that are not all of the same village.
Still, returning to the traditional definition of book, I think there is something particularly unique about them that is unique, and will ultimately transcend new technological ways to express them.
A book in its usual form creates a tangible sense of reality that I find nowhere else. When I put down a novel part way through, even if it is a work written years ago, and read by thousnds before myself, it is as if the world is suspended and waiting for me to return. I think of those characters as waiting, currently in whatever state or dilema in which I left them. I truly believe that this immersive, almost transportive state that a book can impart is unique to its form.
It is the reason I believe the book will endure.
Thank you Mr. Coelho for your contribution to the nobility of your craft.
Happy birthday
i don’t think books will ever disappear.personally i find books to be a friend,a wonderful companion &of course a great source of knowledge & love.i don’t think the online books or ebooks can provide the kind of satisfaction & warmth that paperbooks do.when you are reading a book its like someone is with you as a friend,it makes you comfortable