Funny thing: people these days are reading tons more than they were during, say the 80's, when the giant multinationals took over publishing. Only instead of reading only print newspapers, print magazines, and print books, they also read websites, text messages, emails... oh, and ebooks. Lots of ebooks.
But that book growth has come in the last six years and it has come at the low end of the pricing curve. Where before, reading PD classics meant paying $6-10 for a Penguin classic, now people go to Gutenberg or Feedbooks for free reads or get a Delphi Classic for a couple of bucks.
Where before, $30 might get you two hardcovers or three paperbacks, today $30 can get you 6-10 ebooks between tradpub sales, bundles, or just regular $3-5 pricing. Or it can get you 6-10 used print books.
People are reading a lot.
And they're buying a lot of books. More than at any time in the last 30-40 years.
They're just not buying them at B&N.
(Those $4B in lost B&N revenue is still being spent on books. About three quarters of a billion has moved to Apple, Kobo, and Google. The rest, to Amazon as online pbook and ebook sales and as KU subscriptions.)
Mind you, people do read less commercial fiction than they did in the 1930's, during the heyday of the pulps. But I don't think too many people around here go that far back...
