Reporters' Roundtable: Books' future (podcast)

This week: Books, future of. With the success of the Kindle and its store, and the announced upcoming release of the Barnes & Noble Nook, there are very interesting question for consumers and publishers: What is the future of the book? To discuss this on the Roundtable I have two experts on digital media. First, from CNET, executive editor David Carnoy, who has reviewed the latest e-book readers and who's an e-published author -- see "Knife Music" on Amazon, a 5-star rated book. And joining us from O'Reilly Media - Andrew Savikas, VP of Digital Media Initiatives and a well-known thinker on the print-to-digital transition.

Watch this: The Future of the Book

36:10

Reporters' Roundtable #7: The future of the book

Show notes and talking points...

The reason I picked this topic was the introduction of the B&N Nook, which I think makes the game of e-books more interesting, since it's a serious competitor to the Amazon Kindle. David, overview of the Nook - hardware and store and catalog?

Other vendors overview: Cue, Sony, Apple?

Looking forward: Is the book dead?

Let me ask this another way: What is a book?

With the Kindle and the Nook (and Sony etc)... are we there yet?

What about non-reader access on mobile (or PC)

Andrew: What is Safari, and can you give us a progress report on it?

Discussion of DRM and books: Will it go away, as it did on iTunes?

The concept of books needing platforms, the way software does: What does it mean for the act of reading?

Best market for e-books? (Texts and references, if you ask me.)

What will e-books do to publisher revenues? Authors? Does content necessarily become cheaper when it is digital?

How to sell used books, or lend a book?

What kind of reader do you own / would you buy if you could only have one?

What's next?

Next time on the Roundtable:

I have some ideas... stay tuned.

Comments to: roundtable@cnet.com