E-book users read 60% more books

[Shimarenda]

Originally Posted by LuvReadin

Hmm, interesting - they seem to be saying that people who are keen readers are more likely to buy ereaders, rather than that ereaders per se encourage people to read more. Not sure it's quite as clearcut as that.

While I agree, I will say by way of anecdote that I read more than I did before I got my Kindle. That could be attributed to being reminded how much I love reading while in the excitement of using my new device, but there it is anyway.

[CommonReader]

People who buy dedicated book-reading device read more books than the average reader. Well, who would have thunk it?
I have to admit that my reading has also increased significantly after I bought my reader because of the convenience of always having a complete library with me.

[Fozzybear]

Originally Posted by Shimarenda

While I agree, I will say by way of anecdote that I read more than I did before I got my Kindle. That could be attributed to being reminded how much I love reading while in the excitement of using my new device, but there it is anyway.

I had the same experience as I bought one partly in the hope that it would reinvigorate my reading, which had tailed off to pretty much nothing over the previous year. At the moment it's working as since getting a reader I've regained an interest in reading and have read a lot of e-books and paper books and have been reading some of the classic books I'd wanted to read.

I do agree that for a statistic like that it does needs to be made in context of how much that person read 'before' getting an e-reader. On its own it isn't very meaningful - you may as well say that people who don't own cars tend to drive less than people that do own one.

[spindlegirl]

I read more because it is easier to obtain text than it used to be. I used to actually BUY the bargain bin $5 "classic" reprints, and now I was able to add a couple dozen that were on my e-reading list, to the mix, just by downloading them.

I'm pretty much not high maintenance when it comes to e-reading needs. Plain vanilla works for me. I've bought some books that wind up being 2 MB for a 80 page book due to all the fancy chapter headings (and they're DRM to boot, and some come without covers anyway). For a straight novel with verbiage only, I don't need fancy schmancy in huge calligraphic font telling me what chapter it is. I just want to read.

[Mark Lanzana]

Originally Posted by DonaldL.

E-book users read 60% more books

Interesting

[taosaur]

A lot of people on this forum, myself included, have noted that their reading noticeably increased when they started reading ebooks. As RainingLemur so colorfully illustrated, the logistics are much simpler with ebooks. There's no driving around to get more books, War and Peace is no heavier than Siddhartha, there's no finishing one book and being left without another, no being stuck with a dull book or one you're not in the mood for, and in my case whatever I'm reading is always with me on my phone if nowhere else.

So sure, people who read a lot are more likely to get into ebooks, but people who get into ebooks may also read more than they used to.

[wizwor]

Makes sense to me. While I'd speculate that people who read the most are the most likely to have an ereader and that the availability of quality, free reading material probably increases the likelyhood that one will crack a book more often, I have to anecdotally admit that I read more since purchasing an ereader.

Yesterday I had to have my wife's car inspected. I did not plan on hanging out for eight hours, but I grabbed my Fire with the intent of doing a little surfing and checking out Pulse. I ended up reading a book for the last six hours of my wait.

For me, at least, the ereader has opened the door to impulse reading.

[QuantumIguana]

Personally, I read considerably more since I got an e-reader than I did before I had one. There are books that I would never have tackled if it hadn't been for the e-reader. I had always wanted to read Don Quixote, but it is a brick. Dealing with tiny print on old yellowed pages wasn't too appealing. But a lot of it is simply that heavy readers are more likely to buy an e-reader. An e-reader isn't likely to turn a non-reader into a reader.

[LuvReadin]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Personally, I read considerably more since I got an e-reader than I did before I had one. There are books that I would never have tackled if it hadn't been for the e-reader. I had always wanted to read Don Quixote, but it is a brick. Dealing with tiny print on old yellowed pages wasn't too appealing. But a lot of it is simply that heavy readers are more likely to buy an e-reader. An e-reader isn't likely to turn a non-reader into a reader.

I think for some people, it just might - see the earlier points about dyslexia. It might not turn them into a heavy reader unless they're caught early enough to develop a love of reading, though.

[David.Niall.Wils]

I also thought it was interesting that the survey noted that most people who bought eBooks ALSO bought print books, so it's not "killing the print book" - or not completely...I'm guessing that eBooks actually help people remember the days when they could afford an "impulse buy" paperback fairly often and read all the time...

[Christine54]

This doesn't surprise me. There are so many great ebooks available, and you can get what you want to read without leaving the house. I work some pretty hateful hours, so to have the ability to find and read a book without having to go anywhere is really nice for me, and the fact that many of the books I have downloaded are also free is just an added bonus.

[Nancy F Furner]

Just joined Mobile Reads and this thread immediately caught my attention. I bought my Kindle last fall and since then, the stacks of books I got at the annual Friends of the Library Sale have barely moved. I try to plan my life to avoid wasted time, but you can't eliminate all of it. Having something portable to read with me at all times helps the time pass so enjoyably. One issue I don't think has been raised is the weight of some printed books. As I grow older, I am less willing to take my great, big Baring Gould Annotated Sherlock Holmes to bed for pre-sleep reading. It's lovely to be able to re-read those old favorites on something the weight of a trade paperback.
Just noticed QuantumIguana's post about the mass of Don Quixote--so I guess I didn't introduce the weight issue, after all.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by DonaldL.

E-book users read 60% more books

Duh. Why does the author think people buy dedicated e-ink readers in the first place? Because they read one bestseller a year?

[ProfCrash]

People are giving them as gifts now. I had one co-worker just approach me about where to get free books for her Kindle Fire. She got it for Christmas and was just pulling it out of the box. So people who were not motivated to get and e-reader, because they don't read much or because they like paper books, are starting to get them as gifts. It will be interesting to see how the average books purchased per e-reader changes due to this.

I also think that the numbers reported here might be lower. I don't think that they would include books downloaded for free from sites like Mobile Read.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Duh. Why does the author think people buy dedicated e-ink readers in the first place? Because they read one bestseller a year?

As I understand it, the numbers pertain to people who read an ebook in the past year, not people who bought readers: dedicated, e-ink or otherwise.