Print Books On The Rise Again In The US

Megalith

Megalith

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As someone who finds e-books to be soulless imitations, I am loving this bit of news.

Publishers told the Associated Press this week that the rise of coloring books and books authored by YouTube stars this year seems to have contributed to Americans’ re-investment in physical books. The release of Harper Lee’s much-buzzed-about (albeit bizarre) second novel Go Set A Watchman also may have played a part; Lee’s book sold four times as many copies in hardcover as in e-book format, suggesting that most readers wanted to own a physical copy of the historic book, HarperCollins publisher Jonathan Burnham told the AP.
 
Print is still far superior in look and feel to any electronic reader I've used yet. It's nice that the ebook push has made digitized books so readily available, though. Now you can buy almost any book online and read it instantly, where you'd have to wait a good number of days for a specific title if it wasn't popular enough to be found in your local bookstores or library system.
 
I have been enjoying audiobooks the last 2 years. I never read books as a youth or young adult because of the time involvement. But with 1+ hour commutes each way to work I have plenty of time to listen to someone read to me.

I have found books to be much more enjoyable then what a 1.5 hour movie can provide. In fact I hesitate when I see an audiobook that is less then about 15 hours. I would have never gotten Day Of Wrath due to it only be a 4 hour audiobook. But the reviews were very high, and it turned out to be a fantastic listen.

Going back to the book thing, I think companies under estimate just how much people like a physical copy. Audiobooks offer a unique advantage, but if I'm going to have to look at it one way or another, then having MY OWN physical copy is nice.

Collecting books is still a desired hobby. It has a more notable history then say collecting CD's or something more modern.
 
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I'll admit, something about the E-book reading activity seems to cheapen the reading experience.... initially...i may just be old... However when i can plant my tablet on the proper holding device that allows me to read while laying in bed without using my hands to maneuver pages.

It's a whole new world!
 
westrock2000 said:
I have been enjoying audiobooks the last 2 years. I never read books as a youth or young adult because of the time involvement. But with 1+ hour commutes each way to work I have plenty of time to listen to someone read to me.

I have found books to be much more enjoyable then what a 1.5 hour movie can provide. In fact I hesitate when I see an audiobook that is less then about 15 hours. I would have never gotten Day Of Wrath due to it only be a 4 hour audiobook. But the reviews were very high, and it turned out to be a fantastic listen.

Going back to the book thing, I think companies under estimate just how much people like a physical copy. Audiobooks offer a unique advantage, but if I'm going to have to look at it one way or another, then having MY OWN physical copy is nice.

Collecting books is still a desired hobby. It has a more notable history then say collecting CD's or something more modern.
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This ... I joined audible a few years ago and have gone through hundreds of audiobooks since then ... with a good reader or cast recording the audiobooks are far superior to any film ... many of the Star Wars books have nice full featured recordings and the full cast recording Dune is fantastic
 
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kbrickley said:
This ... I joined audible a few years ago and have gone through hundreds of audiobooks since then ... with a good reader or cast recording the audiobooks are far superior to any film ... many of the Star Wars books have nice full featured recordings and the full cast recording Dune is fantastic
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You might check your local library....you rip the CD's, combine the segments in Audacity (or whatever you choose) and get a nice single file (or 2) like Audible. Selection isn't as great, but $15 is $15.
 
I bought a Kindle to fill the gap when I had Netflix turned off for a while (nothing to watch). I read quite a bit on the Kindle. Mostly cheaper books, but some mainstream stuff. Now I have Netflix back on and I'm burning through that again. If I get a good book, I'm far more enthusiastic about reading. Right now, it has very limited value. Some of the big titles are really expensive too. You'd think they'd be much cheaper, if it's just a copy of a file, but they can cost almost as much as printed copy.

I do hate physical books. I should get rid of most of the ones I have. They just take up space and collect dust. Holding a physical book is really awkward and I don't like the texture of some paper. I had a subscription to Popular Science when I was young and I kept the issues for years. I found mites or something living in the magazines and had to trash them all. Disgusting. The nicest thing about paper books is that they don't need power.
 
Renewed enthusiasm for listening to vinyl records and collecting the artwork has been building the past few years. I'm not surprised people would start wanting books more. I think people are also starting to lose steam for their little desktop "replacement" devices like tablets and mobile phones. If turntables can rebound maybe desktops can too lol (4k might help)
 
I love my books, nothing better than a good book and I especially like old ones with the musty smells. I do have a kindle and dloaded the entire Zane Grey collection for $o.99. I tried to get them off ebay but people want hundreds for the collections.

I spend a lot of time in the woods hunting and photographing wildlife and I really like to read in the woods. If I drop my wifes kindle out the deerstand I'm out $300 bucks if I drop a book i'm out a few dollars if any.
 
I love print books. My wife just got me hard copies of two of my favorite books, signed by the author. While I enjoy e-books for their ease of use and portability, I would take a print book every day over an e-book.
 
kbrickley said:
This ... I joined audible a few years ago and have gone through hundreds of audiobooks since then ... with a good reader or cast recording the audiobooks are far superior to any film ... many of the Star Wars books have nice full featured recordings and the full cast recording Dune is fantastic
Click to expand...

Yes! I also almost exclusively listen to audiobooks now. Audible let's you make CDs + CDs from the library. Between coding, contact reading, and everything inbetween as I'm getting older I'm just generally tired of reading by the end of the day. Though I'll chose real books over a kindle any day.

Like pretty much everything Scott Brick does IMO, the Dune audiobooks series are absolutely Fantastic. I'd even say it was a better experience than reading the books themselves.
 
In my opinion the Kindle readers (NOT tablets with Kindle apps...) are far superior to print. Any book I read now has a consistent font that I prefer, the same size, same spacing and I can adjust it to a very comfortable brightness. I don't have to try and bend the book awkwardly to not break the spine, yet still read the inside areas. Plus the Kindle Paperwhite weighs next to nothing compared to the insanely heavy books. My wife got me the Game of Thrones hardback editions and I think I'd be concussed if I fell asleep with one above my face!
 
I don't get why people sometimes describe an e-book as soulless. A print book is made from dead trees, hard to have a soul if your dead...
I guess I just don't get the attachment to paper books. I get attached to the stories, not the format. And e-book format is just so much more convenient than trying to hold 700+ pages of paper.
I read about 15 hours a week, a lot of it at work. If I finish a book, I can have another purchased and downloaded in about a minute.
Oh, and I just recently finished listening to my first audible book, and it was a great experience! Unfortunately I a lot of the places I am at when reading, audible format won't work.
I am not against print format, I just don't get it.
Whatever your favorite format is, just keep reading ;)
 
I do not see the point in physical books. I do get one from the library if it is my only choice, but usually I can borrow the ebook without having to go there. I am not against physical books, but I love my kindle and it is my preferred way to read.

I guess it is great that those of you who really want to buy a physical book still can and those of us that rather use our kindles can also do so.
 
jordan12 said:
I will never buy an actual physical book ever again.
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me either. Kindle paperwhite looks as good as reading from a book, hell they had it nailed a few kindle versions before that. e-books all the way.
 
I will never buy an actual e-book reader ever again.
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I much prefer the tactile sensation of holding a physical book in my hands over any e-reader device. I have found that I retain the information much better with a physical book compared to an e-book.
It annoys me when some of my classes list e-books only with no option of a paper book. I tend to remember less and retain less when reading it on screen compared to printed words on paper.
Call me old fashioned, but I will never have to worry about having an internet signal or enough battery life with a physical book.
It is my personal preference and may not be for everyone. I'll take a real book over an electronic reader any day.
 
E-readers are still way too slow and small. Good for a throwaway novel, but anything substantial you'll want to be able to flip back and forth in your hand and have a larger viewing surface.
 
My old Kindle e-reader is good for novels, but terrible for cookbooks or reference books that you tend not to read sequentially since flipping around is sort of slow. That sort of reading is best done with a laptop where you can pick a page more easily even though the backlit screen isn't as easy for your eyeballs. Aside from that, e-books are great because you can self-publish a lot more easily and thanks to digital distribution, you can reach a wider audience with a lower priced book. Paper books can't do that. Of course, with anything digital, there's always extremely discouraging illegal sharing. With a printed paper copy, there was at least an initial sale (though unless you're doing the small print or POD thing, the publisher generally pays an author a few thousand for a book and absorbs the risk and profit after that...unless the author happens to be one of the few super-famous ones out there that can significantly leverage the company because of their talent or huge fan appeal).
 
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