Publishers and authors are attempting to attract new readers with the enhanced "e-book." More a multimedia product than a traditional printed text, e-books allow readers to download books or other publications of their choice (the Amazon Kindle, for example, had more than 650,000 books available for download as of July 2010) and access other types of digital media.

E-books are no longer considered "new," they've been developed and re-developed within the past few years, but the industry's newest addition of e-books is even more multimedia enhanced, incorporating more audio, visual, and interactive components than their previous counterparts.

Despite backlash from "traditionalists" who prefer the printed page, e-books are quickly catching on. Because, say researchers, our younger generation of readers are "no longer content to thumb through a printed book." The 21st century Kindle and iPad generation wantsan interactivity and variety that traditional printed books can't provide.

A unique advantage of the e-book is the digital formatting which will allow students, especially those in online education programs, to use the cutting edge technology to access their books and coursework via their e-readers or the Web.

Some of the literary world's most celebrated authors are embracing this format as well. Ken Follett, author of the bestselling "Pillars of the Earth" is expected to present a multimedia-enhanced version of the novel at the 2010 Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest literary trade fair. This multimedia-enhanced version will allow iPad readers of the novel to "see excerpts from the TV series based on the book, watch interviews with the author and actors and track interactions between characters on an ‘interactive character tree.'"

Many wonder if this is the end of the traditional, printed book. Absolutely not, says Gordon Cheers, a prominent Australian publisher. Says Cheers, "I speak to loads of 16-year-olds who say they only read things on their electronic readers. But then they tell me that, for the ones they really love, they go out and buy the book."