Hooked on Kindles, tablets, and Ipads is this the end for real books?

Harsh future for words on paper as digital dominates.

When the first Kindle went on sale just over five years ago scepticism about reading a book on a portable screen abounded.

But the fact that every single one sold out in five hours and it was out of stock for five months indicated the astonishing interest that followed.

Millions have been sold, with basic model prices dropping dramatically and competitor versions available even cheaper.

Apple have been pushing their iBooks hard, too, as iPad owners convert to reading on a screen rather than paper page.

But it all spells a bleak future for traditional high street bookshops, say industry experts.

Professor Claire Squires, Director of the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication, said: “There is absolutely no doubt at all that e-books are just going to grow and grow.

“Already some of the biggest publishers are reporting that fiction sales, either by downloads or online sales of print books, have reached 50%.

“Commuting reading is driving a lot of the sales of novels in particular.

“But booksellers are losing out. Waterstones have recently announced lay-offs and restructuring and they know they’re under threat.

“I’m sure lots of their stores are going to close.

“They’ve formed a partnership with Amazon, which I think is like getting into bed with the devil.

“I’m not sure that will have any success for them.

“We’re going to see fewer and fewer bookshops on the high street.

“People are now using bookshops literally as shop windows. They go in to browse and then order the book on their Kindle.

“Even five years from now it’ll be nothing like it is today. There will still probably be a chain and some nice independents, but much, much fewer than now.”

The ease of handling a Kindle or other tablet and the ability to increase the font size has made e-books hugely popular among more mature readers.

Research has found older people read each page several seconds faster.

“This has been one of the biggest growth areas,” said Professor Squires.

“It mirrors traditional reading patterns where kids read a lot and it then diminishes from teens through to 40s before picking up as people get older.

“They have taken to e-readers just as quickly as tech-savvy youngsters and haven’t found the technology off-putting at all.”

The electronic publishing phenomenon really is making dreams come true for those who feel “I’ve got a book in me”.

With millions of fan fiction tales online, Amazon has just announced Kindle Worlds where writers who sell their works for e-books get a 35% slice of the royalties.