Last weekend, we spent the day with my fiancés’ parents at the Swedish annual Book Fair (Bok- och Biblioteksmässan) in Gothenburg – the largest event for book lovers in Sandinavia. On my way there however, the following thought crossed my mind: Would the book fair be as interesting as earlier years now that the e-book is on the market?

The whole market of e-books is something that I support completely (and also take advantage of) – perhaps even more than the general book reader since I tend to travel a lot in my work, and the fact that ten hardcover books really causes a lot more trouble than tens of e-books in a 200 gram package. But as it turned out we left with a total of eight hardcovers (+ one e-book)… cause they have their charm after all… when they’re signed (!).

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Peter Temples’ new book ”Truth” in Swedish translation

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A whole new world opens up at the book fair where you got every opportunity in the world to really meet face to face with the author of that 1000+ pages book that weighs like a brick – then its worth it to bring it home because it suddenly is more than ”just a book”.

Perhaps that is the future for the book industry? The e-books may perhaps replace the paperbacks completely, while the hardcover books become those rare, exclusive editions. A future I can definitely imagine.