Whenever, and wherever,
book professionals get together the talk is always about an
alarmist, end of the world scenario, where the planet is dominated
by e-books. (This includes those from Frankfurt.) Comparisons are
always made with the music industry. There are no figures for 2013 yet,
but in 2012, 198 million CDs were sold in the US compared to 118
million digital album download. (Nielsen
SoundScan). Talk to anyone and they will day that no one buys
CDs anymore! I am baffled too, considering that, apart from album
art and notes, there is little difference in the quality and price.
Back to books, while almost every grown human in the world listens to music in some form, a vast majority of the population on the planet will not read even one book a year that is not required for their academic pursuit. Of course, textbooks are also books, just like those that list phone numbers, teach you computer programming, how to get rich or get clever quickly, and other genres that many of us, book purists, wouldn't even consider them deserving of such an appellation. There are books you'd leave in the hotel room when you checkout, and there are those you'd keep for decades. I have yet to come across a book statistic that splits e-book and print sales by genre. If any of you have please, let me know, for I think that would be very revealing.
But arguments get a lot more emotional when digital books are discussed, as opposed to digital music. The history of recorded music is a little over 100 years, whereas mass produced books go back some 600 years, and clay tablets and papyrus started around the 3rd millennium BC, and throughout its evolution the book has become better looking (often exquisite), more functional (a design so simple that the OS hasn't changed for over half a millennium, no batteries, no charging and always on) and convenient. (To me, e-books have not cracked the third quality more or less, but not the first two.) BTW, I read both, filling up my e-reader with hard-to-get and, often, free classics. That said, if I like a certain book, I'll hunt down the print version whatever the cost.
Below are some interesting stories about e- and print books in the media in the last month:
- When asked which media teens preferred in physical form, over 60% of girls and boys aged 16 to 24 years old said physical books. (The NY Times)
- Researchers find that reading a novel exercises 'muscles' in the brain. (The LA Times)
- The most popular price point in the US for e-books is USD 1.99, and in the UK it is GBP 0.99. Profitability is something else. (It will surprise you.) (Luzme)
- Some 28% of Americans read an e-book last year, up from 23% in 2012. Even as e-books rise in popularity, Americans are still reading print books. Even those who read e-books also read print books: only 4% of readers are "ebook only". (Digital Book World.)
- A struggling second-hand bookshop owner was stunned when his takings soar 4,000% as dozens of customers descended on the store after posting about his plight on Facebook. (The Daily Mail.)
- How Book Porn Is Revolutionizing The Book World! (PolicyMic)
Looks like, as the Chinese say, an interesting year!
