I didn't write this one, but think it's worth sharing. If you're a writer or a book lover this article from The Economist is right up your alley.
This essay includes a short history of the book, and explores the state of publishing today as the digital transformation is well underway. The popular fear often touted in the media is that the eBook will kill the print book. Evidence shows this is not happening to the extent expected by doomcasters.
The often expressed fear of self-publishing is also tackled: it seem that self-publshing is actually the earliest form of publishing: at one time all books were self-published. What we think of as mainstream publishing came along somewhat later. The self-publisher is returning to a great and honorable tradition of yesteryear, with the added benefit that he no longer needs to direct buyers to his house in order to purchase his new book.
The fear that "with everyone on the planet writing a book, literature will go straight to hell in a handbasket" is another misconception tackled by The Economist. The first fellow to voice this complaint did so in 1471, and for over 500 years neither literature nor the world has ended. Perhaps we're safe.
Click on the red book cover to link through to the article. You can also listen to it as an audio-article or read it in scroll form.
Vivat en libro!