This is a proposed moderated (camp-style) discussion.

The book as we know it has had a long history of changing shape — from the tablet, the papyrus, the scroll, the codex, to the perfect bound pocket book that graces our shelves today.

For the longest time, when we say "book", we mean the physical object of the book as well as the words, thoughts and ideas contained within it. As things tend towards digital, we have begun to make the separation between the content of the book and the physical format of the book itself, enabling us to re-use the content in various different formats and media: as e-books on reading devices, iPhone, as well as on the web.

Is there any reason (other than pure habit) that our e-books are oriented as portrait? Are we too attached to the form of the book as we know it?  If all evolution so far were born out of engineering and material necessities, and if all these historical shackles are falling away, what can we learn from past interactions with books that will carry us towards future designs? Will these designs depend on content, or lead to new forms of content? How do we design for serendipity?

(I replaced the original lead question: "The changing way the public reads - books are different from the computer which is dramatically different from mobile - how will publishing be affected as the way we read evolves?" I am interpreting "reading" as more than just the act of seeing the words on a page, but reading also as a way of how we interact with the book as an object.)