Booksquare

First, take a deep breath. Books are not endangered (we promise you — we can singlehandedly keep the publishing industry afloat; in fact, we think we have). And the Internet will not destroy reading. In fact, it’s likely to suck in unsuspecting non-readers (those folks who eschew the newspaper, but devour online articles like they’re french fries)…before we know it, they’ll be offering sidelong glances toward novels and wondering if there might be something of interest there. And, as we’ve mentioned, oh, once, maybe twice, there are these things called “e-books” (we suspect we haven’t been consistent with our style on this word, but that’s because we don’t have a helpful assistant compiling a style guide). Still books, but without the heft. Which if you carry as much, um, useful stuff as we do, has a certain advantage. We’re sure you’ll sleep soundly tonight knowing civilization hasn’t collapsed.

• Books: An endangered species?
• Another decline-of-book-culture lament