[ritewingwarrior]

E-books are going to be more prevalent as time goes on. Pretty soon people will be publishing books electronically and even the large distributors will see sales fall.
Even for me who reads probably 50-100 books a year, I do not frequent smaller bookstores very much at all anymore, and tend to go through B&N two or three times a month. I still favor the bookstore to Amazon, because you can actually see interesting things you might not have before.
There is also the fact that the younger generation is simply not reading as much. Music, internet, and TV are a big draw for people's time. When you hear that American 'Idle' got more votes than the President, you know people aren't reading.

[Old Student]

"E-books are going to be more prevalent as time goes on. Pretty soon people will be publishing books electronically and even the large distributors will see sales fall."

If you read science fiction, and are even slightly to the right, try www.baen.com

They use the "Old Dope Peddlar" model: "try it, you'll like it!" Specifically, check out the Baen Free Library, where you can download whole books for free (older stuff, but often well worth reading if SF is your bag). They also have the first few chapters of a number of books posted for those who want to check them out, and you can buy ebooks, paper, or hardback, from the site.