Have we fallen out of love with e-readers?
- rebeccaphillips-iad
- Oct 27, 2014
- 3 min read
Key quotes from the article:
'"Print is where words go to die." So went the theory in 2007 when Amazon launched the Kindle. In fact, so sure was the world that books were dead that when Ikea redesigned its ubiquitous Billy bookcase in 2011, it was thought to be so that it could accommodate knick-knacks rather than "archaic" paperbacks.'
'In 2013, British consumers spent £2.2bn on print, compared with just £80m on e-books and last November, statistics by the Association of American Publishers showed that adult e-book sales were up just 4.8 per cent in a year, while hardcover book sales had risen by 11.5 per cent. Nielsen BookData analysis showed e-book sales in May and June last year fell by 26 per cent from 2012.'
'So have Kindle converts returned sheepishly to the book shop? And if so, why? The theory that the e-book reading experience simply isn't rich enough is a popular one. There is no "book smell"; no rustle of pages that can't be turned quickly enough.'
'One study showed that in a group reading the same book, e-readers had a lower plot recall, which was credited to a lack of "solidity". When we can't see the pile of pages growing on the left and shrinking on the right, the book is, apparently, less fixed for us.'
'"I believe the reader of 2020 or 2030 will have two libraries, print and digital, with different types of books and publications in each," agrees Scott Pack. "While I have no qualms about trying out a debut author on e-book or loading up some holiday reading on to my Kindle, when it comes to my favourite authors I have to own the print edition, and I remain a sucker for a beautifully designed and printed book."'
'1. for £80 I can buy 70-75 real books on Amazon that I would actually want to read with free postage.
2. If I am having a difficult month financially I can go to the local library who are glad to have people in borrowing books rather than coming in to watch rubbish youtube videos at full volume and play
brain numbing free games.
3. If the Kindle gets damaged I will have to buy a new one.
4. If I leave it on the bus or train I have to buy a new one, if I leave a book I got from Amazon for 17p on the train it is no big loss.
5. No one will mug me for my book.'
I'm personally not an e-book fan, I like having the physical copy in my hand and then on the bookcase whereas other readers enjoy the ease of a kindle, it makes reading more accessible.
Although the prices of e-books could be a contributor to the decline, as a lot of books cost the same, if not more, but you don't have any physical product that you paid for, which in turn could make people feel like they have thrown money away. My mum actually converted back to paper books for this reason.
This is something I can further look into, the digital age of media, why would I buy a physical book when there is a digital version available, but buy digital music and not miss the CD at all...
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