I don't know about books going away in any of our lifetimes. I can easily believe that Amazon sells more e-books, the Kindle versions are almost always cheaper....plus your delivery is instant and future shopping is right there at your fingertips. I think I bought more books within my first 60 days of owning the Kindle than I have in the previous 3 or so years combined. It doesn't hurt that they have material from lesser known authors for free or short money. I'll find a book I like, read it, and if Amazon recommends a similar sort of book for a buck or two, I often take a chance on it. I absolutely love having my newspaper delivered to my Kindle! I prefer reading the news (instead of having it read to me), and it is very nice not having to worry about smudgy fingerprints or newspapers piling up in the kitchen 
That being said, I still strongly prefer books. I still buy books. I loathe doing serious reading on a computer screen. As an engineer, it is great having a PDF copy of a reference book because the book is so much easier to search and quote. But reading such a book as a text (to me anyway) is painful. The content of engineering texts is dry and painful enough as it is. I do like the Kindle ink screen better than the typical computer screen -- the kindle at least isn't blinking at me. If all things were equal, I'd rather have a real book.
That being said, I still strongly prefer books. I still buy books. I loathe doing serious reading on a computer screen. As an engineer, it is great having a PDF copy of a reference book because the book is so much easier to search and quote. But reading such a book as a text (to me anyway) is painful. The content of engineering texts is dry and painful enough as it is. I do like the Kindle ink screen better than the typical computer screen -- the kindle at least isn't blinking at me. If all things were equal, I'd rather have a real book.
