With the increasing presence of e-books in the marketplace, it would seem that paper books are on the ropes. What does the future hold for these stalwarts?

Curiosity contributor Bambi Turner reads the fine print on the epitaph of the paper book to see if it's really the end.

Future generations are unlikely to reach for books printed on paper. Statistics show that readers are adapting to digital books at a staggering rate. In July 2010, less than three years after the introduction of the Kindle reader, Amazon reported sales of 143 e-books for every 100 printed hardcover [source: Miller]. Just six months later, Kindle downloads also began to outpace sales of paperbacks. By May 2011, Amazon reported that readers were purchasing 105 e-books for every 100 printed books, period [source: Rapaport].

Across the entire publishing industry, e-book sales represent a relatively small (but growing) portion of total book sales. E-books made up about 20 percent of the titles published by the Hachette Book Group in 2011, up from closer to 10 percent in 2010. One executive with Hachette anticipated in 2011 that e-books would make up about 30 percent of titles by the end of 2012. In total, the digital publishing industry is expected to make $3 billion annually by 2015 [source: Rebbapragada].

While these statistics may spell bad news for the future of the printed book, they suggest a positive outlook for the book industry as a whole. Digital book sales have quickly outpaced sales of printed books, but the quantity of printed books sold has remained fairly constant. This means either existing readers are still buying a mix of print and digital books or the digital market has brought books to a whole new group of readers.

But what about the die-hard fans of printed books? The rise in digital publishing may bring unexpected benefits to this group while still allowing them to enjoy physical books. Digital downloads will improve the average person's access to books by making virtually any title available at the touch of a button. At the same time, on-demand printing in bookshops or in the home will allow these users to print the books they've downloaded, combining the convenience of e-books with the tactile enjoyment of a traditional codex [source: Thompson].