Hi Don,
Yes it is sad to hear about this, that another page in history is turning. However - who wants to go out and buy a black & white TV right now? Or, and IBM Selectric typewriter? Times have changed and mostly for the better. Books are wonderful, I've raised my child up by reading to her with books (mostly hard-back) since she was probably 2 yrs old. Now, she's actively reading her own books at 10, and most are paperback, and a few here & there are hard-back. For me, my preference is convenience. We all still love to read, and I'm an active Kindle user myself. I resisted for the first year that my wife had one, and the whole time she just loved it. So, I decided "what the heck" and got one for me for my birthday present. Now, I'm hooked. Overall - the Kindle titles go for around $1 less than the paperback version. Yes, I do think that the titles may have gone up a little bit (introduction to competition with the i-pad I think).

It's just different preferences that's all. I'm sure that many publishers will continue to publish paperback books in our lifetimes. Maybe not as many true, but they will.

Good thread though.. thanks for sharing Don!