The Future of Reading: A Video from Editis

A French publisher, Editis, has produced a remarkable short video about the future of reading. (The video is in the French language with English subtitles.)

In this possible future, print books and ebooks co-exist in a symbiotic harmony. Ebooks have not replaced print books, nor have they eliminated workers in the publishing industry. The bookstore has not vanished, it plays a new role, as a kind of museum and library where buyers can view the books they want, discuss books with a knowledgeable bookstore owner, and then choose either the print version — in any language — or the electronic.

In this elegant scenario, writing also has changed: everything happens faster. Note also the touch screens on the ebook reading devices; and how these tablets serve more than one purpose: they are closer to Netbooks than dedicated ebook readers. All told, it’s a lovely future for ebooks and for the reading public.

Important note: The first minute of this video is blank.

Also: see the excellent commentary about this video, on Mike Cane’s website.