Are bookshelves the dictionary stands of the future?

I ran across an old dictionary stand (link included for those of you who’ve never seen a dictionary stand before) at a garage sale a few weekends ago, and I was tempted to buy it. Not to use it, of course! Who needs a giant paper dictionary these days? But because it was a lovely relic of the olden days. And I like looking at olden day thingys. Which means maybe I should start appreciating my bookshelves more.

The NYTimes Media Decoder blog is reporting that n 2011, more adult fiction was sold as an e-book than in hardcover or paperback.

Over all, digital books kept up their explosive growth in 2011, the survey confirmed. Publishers’ net revenue from sales of e-books more than doubled last year, reaching $2.07 billion, up from $869 million in 2010. E-books accounted for 15.5 percent of publishers’ revenues. But as digital revenue grew, print sales suffered, dropping to $11.1 billion in 2011 from $12.1 billion in 2010.