As my blogging friend P. Viktor points out, Blackwells are to have a pilot installation of Espresso Book Machines in one of their stores. This is a print-on-demand service intended to allow the purchase of out-of-print books, but could have other benefits. Unfortunately, innovation in the book industry, much like the music industry, is broadly nonexistent. Book publishers, like music publishers, believe they have an inherent right to rule their industry and in doing so stifle new or progressive authors. After all, they don't invent, they merely duplicate and market.

Technology has changed this balance. Not only can authors now self-publish (e.g. through Lulu or the just-launched Magcloud for magazines), and self-promote (e.g. through blogs), but they can involve their readers directly in what they are doing. A pattern which is now being executed with great vigour in the music industry.

But is the printed book dying? If we look at the disposable consumption of newspapers, readership is down. My newspaper costs have been converted into an iPhone subscription. I now get most of my news online via blogs. The news I want, when it happens. Sometimes quicker than television.

Books, of course, are different. We have a physical relationship with them. I can touch and smell a book, scribble in margins, or in the case of some books, mark in highlighter pen or underline sections. Technology doesn't exist at present which sufficiently replicates this process. PDF readers are rudimentary. Repeated attempts at mimicing the reading experience haven't succeeded. But we are getting closer. I'm betting that despite its small size, there will be software developed for the iPhone (and iPod Touch) that will better what exists at present.

This is especially important for books that need to evolve: for example, technology books are usually outdated by the time they come to print. The Pragmatic Programmers (and others) get around this problem by bundling updatable PDFs with physical copies. If I'm near my library, I will usually check out something in a book before searching in its PDF equivalent. Reference material is quite different - I almost always look online for this.

Furthermore, without printing and distribution costs, books can become a commodity just as music is becoming (iTunes has now sold five billion songs and is possibly the leading music retailer in the US). This will allow people to dip their toes into the worlds of new authors with little risk and lead to people reading more. How long will it be before we have an iTunes for books?