And let’s hope the publishing houses don’t make the same mistake as the music industry of keeping the prices of the e-versions as high as the paper versions and pocketing the savings.

If they drop the costs of the e-versions to reflect the effective lack of material and shipping costs it will encourage more people to buy readers. Hardcover editions will remain as a “luxury” market, bookstores will have to adapt but could survive as download centres and sources of rare / premium / old editions.

If on the other hand the publishing houses keep the prices for the e-versions high and pocket the difference then sooner or later they will face the same piracy issues as the music industry, where the biggest strike against them is that even the bulk of honest consumers don’t feel much sympathy for the record companies that are viewed as rip off artists.