Quote Originally Posted by Oldwiley View Post
When I wonder what the future of books will be, I often think about horses. Before automobiles existed, everyone had a horse. Then cars became available, and their convenience, compared to horses, was undeniable - Susan Orlean
With great care, a car will absolutely outlast the life expectancy of a horse. CANTER places the cost of owning a horse at about $3600 a year (without a stable, or initial price), way more than a car. And horses don't come with AC or heat, they're relatively slower by far, and that whole sleeping/resting thing. Parallel parking with a horse is a breeze, though.

I own over a score of books over 100 years old, a few over 200, the oldest printed in 1776 (that's 240yrs old, for those math impaired).
It's going to be centuries before they can make an e-reader last that long, or be price-equivalent to a book. Any change in the future of books will be far in the future.

I'd be far more worried about myself being replaced by a robot or computer, than worried about the future of books. It's easier to replace something living with something mechanical, not so easy to replace something already mechanical (and perfected) with something else mechanical. It takes a huge paradigm shift to re-invent the wheel, I don't think we're quite over paper and ink books just yet.
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Back on topic: I love the northern lights in Forochel, the little bird that hangs out at adso's camp, Trollshaws when it thunderstorms, cosmetic weapons, fishing in the Shire while listening to the breeze, the moths around streetlamps, shield-bashing, the new white squirrel pet, playing tag with the children in Bree, how Moria is huuuuuuuge (the waterworks...my gods!), Blizzards in the Mistys, the water (anywhere, seriously the water graphics are sweet), that wind-chime sound in western Ered Luin, the fact that much of ME looks just like Tolkien's own illustrations, listening to random bands hanging out in south Bree, and a whole ton of other stuff.