E-Books May Take Over the World… Just Not Quite Yet!!

By Mike Martin

There is no doubt that we are moving towards a world of fewer printed books than before but the sky is not yet falling on the printed word, at least not as fast as we thought it was. My friend, Angela Hoy, at Writers Weekly pointed out this Publishers Weekly article on e-book reading habits of Americans.

http://publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/retailing/article/55291-e-book-reading-rises-print-reading-dips.html

They quote a survey from the PewResearchCenter’s Internet & American Life Project, which was conducted from October 15-November 10 among 2,252 Americans 16 and up.

It shows a couple of interesting trends amongst the reading public. First of all they report that the percentage of adult Americans who read a book this fall fell to 75% from 78% a year ago. This survey of Americans age 16 and older found that 23% of people in the age bracket read e-books in the previous 12 months, up from 16% a year ago, while the percentage who read print books fell to 67% from 72%. The increase in e-book reading was fueled by higher ownership of digital reading devices, with the survey finding that 33% of Americans 16 and up had either a dedicated e-reader or a tablet, up from 18% in late 2011.

To me this data shows that while e-books continue to be popular there is still a huge market for good old fashioned books in a print format. Maybe the real story here is one that is under-reported and that is that a lot of people have tablets and e-book readers and a ton more got them in their Christmas stockings this year, but having one doesn’t mean that you only read books on that device. It just means that you now have another way to read books. After all you can watch movies on your cell phone but it much nicer to see it at home or in the movie theatre with friends and some buttery popcorn.

Many people I know that have an e-book reader also read print books as well. They like the convenience of loading a ton of their favourite books before they head out on vacation or travel for work but they also love lying on the beach with a great murder mystery. E-books may eventually take over the world, just not right away.

Mike Martin is the author of The Walker on the Cape, a Sgt. Windflower mystery.

(Available in print or your choice of e-book versions)

www.walkeronthcape.com