It is always difficult to know the truth since the main seller of e-books is a company well known for not telling everything.
I was reading earlier today that US e-book sales have dropped in 2016. Apparently, it is the same thing on every mature market. Sales of E-readers seem to follow the same path and people use their phone as the main reader.
For France, Spain, etc. who have started later, there is still growth, the question is for how long. We are experimenting the same in Paris, especially since we are using immateriel as our platform. Our sales have dramatically increased but we don’t know for how long.
The end?
Last week, I had dinner with an old friend and even if I try to be always very punctual, I was a few minutes late. When I arrived at the restaurant, my friend was reading on his Kindle. As I know he has been one of the early adopters of the Kindle and he explained to me he was getting tired of it and coming back to paper books.
Let’s enter the human
When an editor reads a manuscript, it is proven that he sees more mistakes when it is printed vs. reading on screen.As Lynda Barry says, “In the digital age, don’t forget to use your digits!”.
As Lynda Barry says, “In the digital age, don’t forget to use your digits!”. It means we are not virtuals, we are absolutely analogic. Of course, ebooks have some great advantages and I am a heavy reader of books in digital format since the convenience is great for a traveller. Having the possibility to carry a whole library in the pocket is a huge advantage.
The fact is we read better, we memorize better when we use physical objects and the reason is simple, our brain is wired for the real world, not for the cyberspace.
I personally love books but I never have the one I want with me when I want it. That’s my main reason to prefer e-book most of the time. And you?