Quote:
Originally Posted by BWinmill
In my case, it's more of a mix and it will probably always be a mix. I'm very price sensitive when it comes to books. It's probably a result of my upbringing: why buy new when you can buy used or (better yet) use community resources like libraries. Outside of indie authors and a smattering of ebooks offered by libraries, I have seen very little accommodation for those of us who are price sensitive.
On top of that, ebooks are not very desirable for the occassional reader. If you read a couple of books a year, an ereader that costs as much as four of the latests best sellers does not look very desirable. Other than that, you are shoehorning those books onto devices that aren't designed for reading: phones with screens much smaller than the printed page, tablets that are bulky in comparison, or computers that force you to sit at a desk. None of these are great for reading on the patio. None of these devices are great for a day on the road. (People will make due, but books are just easier in this respect.)
Is it any wonder that ebooks are starting to stall, and will only see slow growth until the next technological hurdle is overcome?
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True for most occasional readers, although I know of two people, one of whom read 3 books in 10 years she told me and the other who said he started a few books and never finished them who now finish at least one book a week and often more. They both buy books online directly to their readers, and the female has read The Game of Thrones series, the entire Sookie Stackhouse series, and numerous others in the last two years. Granted easy reading, but quite amazing for someone with 4 small children and a business to run (neither of which she neglects), who had only read 3 books in 10 years.
I think that growth will continue with this small segment of the population. It won't cause a decline in paper book sales, because these people rarely bought paper books. It is a new market almost. The people who enjoy reading when they do it but never have a book handy when they have the time, or don't like shopping or going to the library for books are possibly of a fairly significant number. If they make up 1% of the population, and 1% starts reading more on an ereader that is 1 in 1000. Not a big number percentage wise, but possibly more than 1/2 a million in developed countries alone. And the fact that I know at least 2 in a small town of under 450 seems to make this fairly likely.
Not that I care personally, as there are thousands of books in my local libraries that look interesting and I would like to read and many of my favorite author's works are available there or are for sale as ebooks.
Helen