“Here’s what happened instead. Sales of printed books rebounded in the decade that followed—rising as steadily as electronic book sales leveled off. In the United States, 2011 was the year in which more ebooks were sold than hard covers; by 2016, though hardbacks were outstripping ebooks once again. And since most of the books we read weren’t bought in that same year, twice as many Americans read glued or sewn wood pulp than read an electronic book. As I upload the manuscript in 2018, new industry reports inform me that print sales have increased in the United States for each of the past four years. Last year sales revenue from hardbacks and paperbacks outstripped revenue from ebooks by more than 300 million…” (3).
This passage, from Leah Price’s 2019 What We Talk About When We Talk About Books, sparked my interest in particular because it discusses how paper books are doing much better than electronic books in the market. Although the books may not be read, they are bought. The statement above is a hard fact and cannot be disputed, but as someone who was at an age able to see the electronic revolution, I feel it is important to talk about the differences. Many people say that the world does not use paper anymore and clearly from what is stated above, that is completely untrue. In this new era of the world, many people miss the nostalgia of the old world. People yearn for physical copies of things versus being able to obtain information at whim. Books and their function in our world are not going to go anywhere, not because people enjoy reading, but because of the emotion they provoke.
Older generations of people claim that the children of today do not know the value of a book and although this could potentially be true, this statement holds true with adults as well. Book sales have increased versus e-books because there are some people who just love having books. There are people who simply buy books because of the cover pages, but do not pay attention to the contents, or because it may make them seem interesting and people will potentially ask about the text, or even for decorating purposes because colorful books add an aesthetic to a room. All these things would obviously increase book sales but that does not necessarily mean that these books are getting read. The online world provides all information at the click of a button, so finding access to books online has become easy as well and these books do not need to be paid for. I feel this also contributes to the fall of the e-book but it does not necessarily correlate with the rise of paperbacks.
I have not seen the fall of the book or printed page as many people claim they do. I see books now more than ever. Many people purchase books to seem intellectual or they crave the smell and feel of paper (much like I do) because having a phone, compared to having the hard copy of a text is just not the same. Unfortunately, the Internet allows much easier access to these things, so while e-book sales are decreasing, the book and reading isn’t going anywhere. Books are forever no matter how quickly technology advances. This is the point Price is trying to highlight. As much as people feel e-books and the Internet are going to take over, the book will always stay. Sales have not fallen and they will continue to thrive.
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