Waterstones founder: e-book revolution will soon go into decline

Tim Waterstone, who founded the bookshop chain in 1982, argues that the printed word is far from dead and Britain’s innate love of literature had made books one of the most successful consumer products ever

A Waterstone's shop on Oxford Street, London Photo: Alamy

By Hannah Furness

The Telegraph -  31 Mar 2014

The so-called e-book “revolution” will soon go into decline, the founder of Waterstones has said, insisting that the traditional physical book is here to stay.

Tim Waterstone, who founded the bookshop chain in 1982, argued that the printed word was far from dead and Britain’s innate love of literature had made books one of the most successful consumer products ever.

He added that he had heard and read “more garbage about the strength of the e-book revolution than anything else I’ve known”.

Appearing at a panel event on the future of publishing at the Oxford Literary Festival, Mr Waterstone said he was hopeful about the future of the physical book, adding that the deeply rooted love of reading in Britain was “immovable”.

He joked that insiders were generally “apocalyptic” about the the book industry’s prospects but said he refused to believe the traditional physical book was under threat. 
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