The digital business is weighing on Barnes & Noble Inc., the largest traditional U.S. bookseller.
Physical books may have a longer shelf life than expected. Barnes & Noble posted a third-quarter loss on Thursday, partly because demand for its e-books and Nook e-book readers have plummeted.
Barnes & Noble's fiscal first quarter was a tale of modern and traditional. Tech-savvy readers snapped up its e-books and other digital content during the period, while traditionalists headed to its bookstores for the popular "Fifty Shades of Grey" series and other items.

Opening statements were scheduled to begin Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of beating an aging Jesuit priest who he says molested him and his younger brother more than 35 years ago.
A Florida teenager was convicted Tuesday of aggravated battery in a horrific 2009 attack on a middle-school classmate who was drenched in rubbing alcohol and set on fire.
Barnes & Noble is considering options for its quickly growing but expensive Nook e-book reading business, its latest attempt to regain profitability as the publishing industry adapts to the rising popularity of digital books and magazines.
Barnes & Noble said Thursday it is reviewing its options for its growing Nook e-book reader business and might spin it off from its core bookstore business.
Barnes & Noble unveiled a $249 Nook Tablet Monday just ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season in a bid for more of the growing markets for e-books and tablet computers.
The next frontier in the fight to keep crucial electronic networks safe from harm will play out as close to home as Town Hall and require more involvement from private industry, which controls 85 percent of the infrastructure, experts say.