Digital Book World

LONDON - Digital books on tablets, smartphones, and devices like Amazon's Kindle are certainly convenient, but according to a new survey most people still prefer a good old fashioned paper book. There's just something satisfying about turning the page and holding a physical book in one's hands, as over two-thirds of adults say they always opt for a real book over digital reading.

Kevin Kelly, founder of Wired Magazine, published a book this year titled The Inevitable. In it he describes a number of ways that future mortals might experience their best-loved products and services. I recommend it.  Read more

Physical Book World is not the name of the conference. But as Sourcebooks' Dominique Raccah gave her opening address at the pre-conference Launch Kids program at Digital Book World, you might have been forgiven for thinking that the "print resurgence" folks had infiltrated the hall.  Read more

What a difference the passage of six years makes, Mike Shatzkin reminded us, introducing the Digital Book World conference in New York yesterday (Tuesday 8th March).  Read more

The future of the book industry lies in a combination of data compression technology and cryptography, according to Alec Ross, the young American "wunderkind" who gave the keynote address at the final day of the Arab Publishers Conference in Sharjah last week.