This is a rather interesting statistic, showing that the sales of e-books are dropping quite dramatically. I find this timely, as recently I have switched from buying electronic books to good old fashioned paperbacks.
According to Nielsen, e-book sales fell 16% in 2016 compared to the year previously. In young adult fiction alone, e-book sales dropped by more than 25%.
I have switched largely because there are a number of books that I wanted to share with others. I also find that the second hand market for paperbacks is far more buoyant. Kindle books I have found not to be as cost effective as you would first believe.
A Kindle book is extremely restrictive – you can’t lend them to someone else, nor can you gift them, and more importantly you can’t resell them. Kindle books also don’t fill up a bookshelf – there is no satisfaction of seeing your collective reading (aka learning) over the years on a shelf. The only real benefit of a Kindle book is its ease of transportation.
The last 2 books I actually purchased second hand from eBay, at a fraction of the cost of what was on offer from Amazon (who also offered it second hand too). I also have the option of reselling which again, I have discovered eBay far quicker at moving items than Amazon.
I am glad the book industry isn’t going out of fashion anytime soon, especially now that I have rediscovered the joy of the printed word.
via What falling e-book sales tell us about technology in 2017
alan williamson 