Even the most hardcore ebook enthusiast (like myself) might be putting their Kindle down in favor of a print book. Why? Parents are finding that print books are still the best medium for reading to their little ones.

I fall into this category. My son is a young toddler and he’s still at the age where he likes to explore things by putting them in his mouth. That’s what toddlers seem to do, put stuff in their mouths. They also throw, bang, drool on and have numerous other destructive methods in their arsenal. This means toddlers and eReaders don’t mix.

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The Authors Guild isn’t holding anything back in their criticism of Amason’s Lending Library. The library program is available to Amazon Prime members, who pay $79 per year for membership.

The Authors Guild’s main complaint is that Amazon is lending out ebooks for free without the publisher’s permission, or even the author’s permission.

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There’s nothing new about taking a newspaper, magazine or even a book into the bathroom while you do your…uh…business. Usually the bathroom is the one place people can get a little peace and quiet, making it ideal for reading.

Now we live in an age of iPads and eReaders. So it naturally follows that people will take their shiny new electronics into the bathroom to read as well.

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Ebooks are taking libraries by storm. After all, why buy an ebook, read it once and then archive it when you can “rent” an ebook at no cost. And forget about checking out an actual print book. Those things are like dinosaurs.

Okay, I might be exaggerating a little, but not much. According to Mediabistro, ebook checkouts from libraries are up significantly from last year:

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While ebooks have surged in popularity over the last few years, there’s one group that has adopted ebooks the quickest than any other group: Romance fans.

The romance genre has always sold a lot of books. And the consumers of romance are all too eager to eat up the latest titles. One big reason why, I think, romance sells so many books (aside from the “sex sells” factor) is because so many books are a part of a series. You read one, you have to read more.

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The end of print books is near. Very near. At least, that’s what the Swedish maker of cheap, near-impossible-to-assemble furniture company Ikea is predicting.

That’s why the furniture maker is re-designing some of their bookshelves to feature glass doors, on the assumption that print books will soon be relics to be displayed in museum cases.

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Gone are the days when you have to keep your kids occupied by letting them play with (and potentially breaking) your shiny new iPad. Now, you can get your little rug rats their own tablet computer that’s designed just for kids.

LeapFrog has created a nifty tablet called the LeapPad. The device is geared toward 3-5 year olds. It comes pre-loaded with a few games and educational stuff, and parents can even download additional apps from the LeapFrog website. The LeapPad retails for about $100, but for a little more, you can get a “bundle” with additional apps included.

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I was in the locker room at my local gym last night after an invigorating swim, getting ready to go home. When I’m in the locker room I usually try to get in and get out as fast as possible.

But as I was changing, I couldn’t help but overhear two guys with lockers close to mine talking about the downfall of Borders Booksellers. They lamented how sad it was that the chain had gone bankrupt (which I agree, it is sad). Then they listed, what they thought, were the reasons for Borders’ downfall:

1. Apple’s iPad

2. Ebooks in general

3. Amazon.com

I desperately wanted to tell them that they were wrong. Dead wrong. I wanted to tell them that Borders began their descent into bankruptcy back in the 90s. That it was a slow fall.

My general shyness in public, and my strict rule about not talking to other guys changing in the locker room, prevented me from saying anything. That, and I was in a hurry to get home. If I was a good promoter, however, I would have had a business card with this blog on it and I would have told them to read my blog.

While this was only one isolated incident, I do see it as further anecdotal evidence that people are blaming ebooks (and Amazon) for the fall of Borders. I’ve written many posts here about why Borders went belly-up.

One strong selling point of ebooks has been they can be enhanced, meaning, authors can add links to related websites and even videos, audio, music and anything else you wouldn’t find in a print book.

I’ll admit, even I promoted this idea as a step forward in the reading experience. But as I’ve been reading more and more ebooks though, my thoughts have shifted on the subject.

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With the release of the final Harry Potter movie, fans have little to look forward to. There’s always JK Rowling’s recently unveiled Pottermore website, and the release of the series in ebook format. But even those can take fans so far.

Let’s not forget that Harry Potter has been a multi-billion dollar franchise. It has kept kids and adults hitting the bookstores and the movie theaters.

For JK Rowling, she’ll keep raking in the cash. And with the release of the HP ebooks that she’s self-publishing, her net-worth is going to skyrocket.

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