The United States publishing industry’s largest annual trade, BookExpo, came to an end in Los Angeles without offering the clear promised perspective on the strategy needed to revive the industry.

"It was quiet, very quiet," Simon & Schuster CEO and President Carolyn Reidy said, according to the Associated Press. The general perception was that the event lacked a certain interest intensity due to the absence of a "buzz" book or an inspiring speech. The high point for the event was offered by a pop concert, and that says a lot about the book event, even if the concert involved popular recording artist Prince.

There were several book releases that even though did not manage to cause the hoped media revolution, succeeded in making their presence known. Such novels were Marilynne Robinson's "Home," Andrew Davidson's "The Gargoyle" and "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society," co-authored by Mary Ann Shaffer, who recently passed away, and her niece, Annie Barrows.

Amazon praised throughout the whole event its Kindle release and its plans to spread it all across the U.S. market. The Kindle, the company’s digital book reading device, was launched last November featuring an electronic paper display and now retails for $359, after a $40 discount was announced earlier this week. Momentarily, it is only sold in the United States.

At this point, the Kindle e-books account for about 6 percent of the site’s total book sales and the numbers are expected to significantly increase over the next few years.

Apart from Kindle’s enthusiasts, "Fahrenheit 451" novelist Ray Bradbury expressed his firm belief that the future of books consists in cardboard and paper, being quoted by the AP saying that: "There is no future for e-books because they are not books."