The publishing industry's alarm over the electronic book isn't based on current use. Last year, less than 2 percent of all books sold were e-books, according to Bowker, which tracks the industry.

By contrast, trade paperbacks and hardcovers made up approximately 35 percent each of unit sales, Bowker says. Mass market paperbacks came in at 21 percent.

But we all know how fast technology can take hold. Not long ago, e-commerce sites like Amazon.com were just a blip on the bookselling scene, and now they are major players.

Book chains still hold the lead in the percentage of books sold, at 27 percent, but they are now followed by e-commerce sites, at 20 percent. Independent booksellers, meanwhile, account for only 5 percent of books sold.

With e-books costing less to make but also selling for much less than printed books, it's no wonder that publishers are anxiously eyeing the horizon.

I like the smell of old books and I also love the fact that books and bookshelves add aura to a room or house. I'd like to think that these paperbacks and hardcovers that my wife and I read (with the exception of the Twilight series) will somehow spark our children's interest in literature and imagination. As early as now, books compete with toys as far as my 4-year old's interest is concerned so I guess that's a good start.

Until the Kindles, Sony e-Readers and iPads of the world can recreate that, the good old tree-killer will be a mainstay.

Entertainment Weekly:

When iTunes officially sold its 10 billionth download yesterday, it wasn’t to a 14-year-old girl pinging Ke$ha tracks from her MacBook Pro to her third-gen iPhone 3G in geometry class….The lucky winner of a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card (and a whole lot of press) is 71-year-old Louie Sulcer of Woodstock, Georgia, a retired real estate agent, onetime Navy radar operator, and grandfather of nine who just wanted Johnny Cash’s 1958 single “Guess Things Happen That Way” for his new Nano, a birthday gift from his children. And he bought it on a PC: “I do not own a Mac, no,” he chuckles. “I knew somebody was going to ask me that question.”

Sulcer has spent the last day fielding calls from, among others, Apple head Steve Jobs (“I thought it was my son, he’s always a joker. I kept saying, ‘Come on, Kevin, I know it’s you!”) and Cash’s daughter Rosanne (“she had her husband, who is her guitarist, play the song to me over the phone. That was real nice.”).

Here's why everyone should love the news:

1. The winner is 71-yr old Louie Sulcer who burns his CDs for his own use. He also creates CD mixes for his grand-kids. How sweet is that?
3. The winner is NOT some 13-yr old kid who downloaded "Imma Be" or some other track from Black Eyed Peas.
3. The price is a $10,000 iTunes gift card which the winner can use to purchase ANY content available in iTunes. Hell, he can even cancel his cable subscription and just download all the shows he wants in iTunes (1 season costs just $15). I would love that!
4. The 10,000,000,000th song happens to be a Johnny Cash classic. And Cash's daughter called the winner to congratulate.
5. Tech-god Steve friggin' Jobs also called the winner to congratulate!

Why you should hate this news:

1. The 71-yr old winner is a PC user.