Kindle e-books are outselling print books at Amazon.com. How long will the trend hold out? (© Amazon)

Just a few days ago, Melissa J. Perenson of PC World covered Amazon’s most recent earnings announcement. The company said in the last quarter it sold 115 electronic books for its Kindle device for every 100 paperback books sold. In addition, Kindle books outsold hardcover books as well — though those sales numbers include titles for which there’s no Kindle edition.

Perenson points out that the e-book sales the Internet retail giant released may simply indicate a rise in sales as a result of people receiving electronic readers for the holidays. While that may sound like she believes it’s a fad, she’s also quick to note that it’s also possible that e-books may really be increasing significantly in popularity. I agree with her. I think it’ll take some time to know whether or not people have finally embraced reading from a screen with electronic ink.

One independent bookstore is going in the other direction. Microcosm Publishing book and zine store in Portland, Ore., asked shoppers to bring in their Kindles to exchange them for the devices’ worth in store credit. As the company’s blog points out, because many books at the store sell for $2 to $6, and Amazon’s reader retails for $139 to $189, customers could get quite a number of titles in trade. According to a follow-up post on the store’s blog, at least one customer has already agreed to a swap.

As for me, I love reading off the printed page, but I like the convenience and portability that e-books offer. I believe there are reasonable applications for both. Frankly, I think that regardless of which one outsells the other, printed and electronic books will coexist for quite some time to come.

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