The Printed Book Lives On

Citing the Association of American Publishers data, Nick Carr pointed out that the explosive growth of e-books sales in the US (doubling or much more every year between 2008 and 2011) seems to have not just slowed down, it seems to have come to a halt (it was an anemic 5% this year).

Note that Carr is not saying that e-book sales have stopped; just that the growth in sales between successive years has slowed. In fact, as Carr points out, the share of printed books in the US continues to fall, just not as fast as before. E-books currently account for 25% of total book sales.

Carr’s list of suspects for this apparent e-book plateau includes factors like the medium not suiting certain types of books (“like nonfiction and literary fiction”) or certain reading positions (like “lying on the couch at home”); the existence of multipurpose tablets that distract you from reading; and there not being much of a price difference between printed and e-books.

And, perhaps, it also has to do with some of the benefits of the physical book over the e-book. Like what this Strand store pic from Flicker shows!

Turns out this isn’t the first time the physical book was thought to be on its way out. Like check out these extracts from Octave Uzanne’s essay “The End of Books”, from, hold your breath, way back in 1894! Even back then, people apparently felt that the end of the printed book was imminent. But for reasons other than e-readers, of course! So what was the Big Threat back then? Books would be:

“Very easy to replace by phonography, which is yet in its initial stage, and of which we have much to hope.”

Huh? A phonograph? How? What’s the connection to books? Uzanne again:

“You will surely agree with me that reading, as we practise it today, soon brings on great weariness; for not only does it require of the brain a sustained attention which consumes a large proportion of the cerebral phosphates, but it also forces our bodies into various fatiguing attitudes.”

And

“Our eyes are made to see and reflect the beauties of nature, and not to wear themselves out in the reading of texts; they have been too long abused, and I like to fancy that some one will soon discover the need there is that they should be relieved by laying a greater burden upon our ears.”

Thus, soon:

 “At home, walking, sightseeing, these fortunate hearers will experience the ineffable delight of reconciling hygiene with instruction; of nourishing their minds while exercising their muscles for there will be pocket phono-operagraphs, for use during excursions among Alpine mountains or in the cafions of the Colorado.”

I guess the reports of the death of the printed book have been greatly exaggerated multiple times!