By Ryan Davis, editor at YWAM Publishing

I’ve read compelling books that discourage small talk. Don’t we have anything deeper to talk about than sports, food, and the weather? I understand the point, and it’s an important one. But I’m going to talk about the weather anyway, because in the previous blog post Kate spoke of flowers and gardening, and now I’m staring out the window at a very gray, rainy day. Maybe you are too.

The transition from summer to fall seems, at least this year in the Northwest, to be the most abrupt change of seasons. We were enjoying warm, sunny days just a week ago. Now the air feels damper, cooler. The sky looks like the wet pavement beneath it. Fall is looming.

A change is looming in the publishing world as well. Actually, it’s past looming—it’s already here. I’m referring to the rise of e-books. I won’t say that this is a seasonal change, because seasons are cyclical, and the shift to electronic reading (and electronic everything) seems linear and progressive. Each year, positively, reading technology progresses (what’s not to like about the new adjustable front-lighting on e-readers?), and each year, negatively, physical bookstores are closing (don’t we like these too? can we still save them?).

Needless to say, every author, publisher, and bookseller is forced to keep pace with these changes, or at least be aware of them. At YWAM Publishing, we have made available many of our titles in Kindle and Nook formats. We have also released some exciting new audiobooks. We have received positive feedback about these nonpaper versions of our books—they’re convenient and easy to travel with and powerful to listen to. Of course, some bibliophiles will never part with physical books, and they need not worry—we won’t stop printing books anytime soon.

So, back to small talk, are you ready for fall? or e-books?