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Rumpus Book ClubThe Second Life of the Cassette Tape and its Connection to Books as Cultural Objects
The Boston Globe published a great story about the re-emergence of the cassette tape as a way for indie bands and their listeners to turn against the dominance of the MP3. Go read it. Then come back.
Ok. Look at the article again. Replace “cassette” with “book” and “iPod” with “iPad”, then fast forward ten years. Are we looking at a sign of things to come for the book industry? Will a fragment of the population quickly become bored with electronic texts and yearn for the tactile pleasures of the good old fashioned book? It’s not hard to imagine indie publishers like DZANC, McSweeney’s and Publishing Genius catering specifically to a future audience who only want to read books in physical formats. Could this lead to a massive rise in handmade and low print run books?
July 26th, 2010 at 10:36 am
The short answer: absolutely yes. And don’t overlook the return (if only in limited titles) of the LP album.