In part of his annual state of the world address on The Well Bruce Sterling says:

The worst part about writing science fiction is the publishing and
distribution system. Practically everything we know about literature
and popular literate culture is predicated on the use of ink on paper.
I was a big fan of that stuff, but if you find a kid under 20 today
who’s exclusively into ink on paper, he’s some kind of weird
antiquarian.

Every Warcraft addict and Second Life lego-fanatic is somebody who
gafiated from science fiction fandom and into social practices a lot
more 21C. There is a major fire in the basement there; it’s like the
death of the pulp magazines, only much, much more so.

So I can write science fiction, and even get it in print, but I no
longer quite know who the readers are, why they’re reading that, and
why they’re not doing something else. Lord knows *I’m* doing something
else. If they’re my readers, why aren’t they doing what I’m doing:
websurfing their heads off? What can I tell them with novels that they
don’t already know?

I got a novel underway right now that’s got some serious novelty in
it, but man this book has been hard to write. It’s a novel about life
in the future, and nobody would dream of reading a novel in this
extrapolated culture. Sixty thousand linear words in a row? No
graphics? No hotlinks? And I turn the pages? You’re joking.

Cory Doctorow keeps referring to book-lovers as codex-fetishers. He’s a 21C dude, and though he keeps releasing new books, like his upcoming short-story collection Overclocked – those stories are also available both on the web, and via his podcasts. So you don’t need that codex in your hand to enjoy them. They can be sampled via a browser (and printed off), or enjoyed as you walk down to the supermarket (as I often do).

Everyone loves a good narrative, but the book faces so much competition these days. From video games, to comics, to TV shows like Lost, to MMO’s like WoW and Second Life, to just hanging out on ‘net forums. But they all share a theme of enganging the reader and allowing feedback. We’re done with one-way media.

The joy of watching shows like Lost is trying to piece together wtf its about with fellow viewers – whether it’s at the office, or via some ‘net forum. And the rest I mentioned, well.. if you’re not playing them, nothing’s happening.

Given these forms of engagement, books almost seem dated.. so damn passive. I can’t stop buying them though, but they’re building up like never before. Just sitting there, waiting for me to find time to read them. Today I actually have one with me (a rare thing), but that’s only because I’m currently car-less, and forced to take the train home tonight.

So the question is – books, will they still be around in 50 years? And will that be a bad thing? Am I just ranting? Well..