Back in 2000, I was a writer for Upside magazine (the online edition).  Using marketing theory, specifically the adoption of innovations, I said the e-books would take a long, long time before they would replace paper books.

Here was a typical response I received at that time.

“In response to you on your article “The Problem with E-books” on Upside
Today.
 I believe you are totally wrong on the prospects of e-books and the
 electronic distribution of intellectual property.
Today, more technologies are being developed that will facilitate the mass
 acceptance of e-books.
 A new generation of PDA’s, cell phones, laptop computers and flat panel
 displays will make the efficient distribution of reading material an 
absolute pleasure.
 And your argument that books are to be “treasured” as a personal symbol is 
ludicrous.

I can’t tell you how many books I purchased that I don’t like 
but can’t throw out.
They sit in my closet collecting dust because they a) really sucked and/or
 b) became an eye sore.
 Now if I had a hard drive to archive them all I would be alright.
 Maybe I could give the electronic copy to a friend as a gift.
 If I really wanted a particular book to treasure for my library or coffee
table, I’d go out and buy it.
 All of the other benefits you point out in your article are further
 evidence that this will work.  
In conclusion, I think you’re way behind the times. E-books are for real.”

As you can see, this person felt like e-books were taking off immediately, while theory predicted it would take a long time.

Now that there are so many e-book readers out there, you’d think that books were dead.  They are not.  While e-books are gaining market share, they are still about 9% of the market.  True, this might mean the eventual demise of paper books, but this will take awhile - and this is exactly what was predicted by marketing theory.