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Monday, December 13th, 2010

We should stop thinking of ourselves as book publishers. That was one of the resounding lines echoed unnervingly in my head after an ebook conference last week. Too true, of course, when the rise of ebooks is plain to see and digital opportunities for publishers and authors abound.

But this thought also coincided with a number of things catching my eye online, making me wonder at just how rapidly the book as an everyday object may be becoming obsolete. I could rattle off a list as long as your Kindle’s memory of such items – on sale at The Literary Gift Company – from books turned into clocks to Mills and Boon confetti.  Furthermore, the book-slash-bag concept has been making notable appearances on the red carpet of late, for example see the beautifully-groomed Natalie Portman here. And I do happen to find this inspired-by-writers T-shirt rather amusing…


This kind of nostalgia, with books cropping up in places like homeware and accessories seems to me a telling sign that we’re becoming less attached to books in their paper form. What do you think?

Lesley-Anne Crooks, Sales & Digital Manager

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