Recently, at a City Hall hearing, a man in authority declared, authoritatively, that books, as we know them in paper format, were on their way out, and they would soon be completely replaced with electronic versions.

Silly man. Another slave to conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is just that—conventional—with no imagination or sometimes even intelligence behind it.

I wanted to say to him, “Remember the paperless office?” That was touted by futurists all over the planet. “Remember that marvel called the floppy disk?” That little plastic square was going to change our technological world.

So don’t fear, those of you who love books. You may love your Nook and take it wherever you go. But the traditional paper book is not going away. Continue reading →