Whither Thou Goest, O Ye Book?

BBC News has a story on several rare manuscripts up for auction. These are books once owned by kings and queens and are handwritten, with illustrations and decorations painted in brilliant colors and gold. I have to wonder—in 100 years, will anyone be holding such an auction of ebooks on a Kindle?

As unhappy as it may be to folks like me who love libraries and bookstores, it's still intriguing to read various predictions about the future of reading. GalleyCat pointed out that as recently as 10 years ago, author Robert J. Sawyer wrote about a bookstore of the future with coffee shops and books printed on demand—which is kinda here and now already in 2010. Seth Godin feels that future bookstores will be few in number, but those that remain will be more about attitude and the experience, rather than making every book title available on the spot (like the Montague Bookmill in Massachusetts).

There's also been much hand-wringing about the younger generation's book habits. However, if publishers (and authors) are worried about a declining interest from young people in books and reading, then this recent viral video might be more encouraging.