'Books are dead' has been predicted for 500 years — market still growing 5% annually
RachelVT42 · x · 2026-10-23
A thread collects centuries of 'books are dead' predictions: Johannes Trithemius in 1492, Théophile Gautier in 1835, Thomas Edison in 1913, Steve Jobs in 2008, MIT's Nicholas Negroponte in 2010. Yet the global book market is still expected to grow 5% annually. A reply adds the real issue: many people can't read beyond a 5th-grade level.
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