Poll: 3 out of 4 Americans prefer paper books

[Nate the great]

I'm not going to read too much into this.

While I don't have specific details about the Rasmussen survey (it's behind a paywall) I do know that there is readily available survey data that shows that the average book buyer likes ebooks.

BISG's latest report in April 2013 revealed that 82 percent of Power Buyers and nearly 70 percent of Non-Power Buyers say they now prefer ebooks over paper books.

http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...0-like-ebooks/

[Rob Lister]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

Heh. I am just the messenger.

As long as interest in e-books ensures that every new book that I want to read is available in e-format, I don't really care one way or the other. If you and others prefer e-books, that's no skin off my reader.

That you tolerate reading into the gutter doesn't bother me. (an esoteric binding reference I'm rather proud of!)

[fjtorres]

People have short memories.
Remember this from April?
http://www.statisticbrain.com/reading-statistics/

Total percent of U.S. high school graduates who will never read a book after high school --- 33%

Total percentage of college students who will never read another book after they graduate --- 42%

Total percentage of U.S. families who did not buy a book this year --- 80%

Total percentage of adults that have not been in a book store in the past 5 years --- 70%

25% of the general populace likes ebooks?
Fine by me.

[Istvan diVega]

Assuming the survey is fairly accurate, I think 25% penetration since around 2006 (when the Sony PRS-500 was launched) is pretty damn good. I doubt the next seven years will double that, but in another couple of decades ebooks will certainly outsell paper by a considerable margin in industrialised, affluent countries.

[cfrizz]

Polls and surveys are generally meaningless. I don't care who likes what just so long as I'm able to do my reading on my choice of format.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

Polls and surveys are generally meaningless. I don't care who likes what just so long as I'm able to do my reading on my choice of format.

[susan_cassidy]

I think that people that read e-books tend to buy more books that the paper book readers. I know I buy more ebooks than I did paper books before I discovered e-reading. Partly because I can easily find more books that I want to read now.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

I think that people that read e-books tend to buy more books that the paper book readers. I know I buy more ebooks than I did paper books before I discovered e-reading. Partly because I can easily find more books that I want to read now.

Plus, if we weren't heavy readers there wouldn't be much point to buying a dedicated reader, right?
With that background, the added convenience and lower (average) cost makes stockpiling hard to resist.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Alex, you seem to be posting a lot of articles about paper books. Is there something you want to tell us?

Hmmmm .... reminds me of 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' ....

[Fluribus]

I prefer paper. Paper is still easier to read. The contrast is better. Pictures and maps look better. OCR errors are extremely rare. Formatting is generally better.

Ebooks are far more portable, but that's not a factor for me. It's the space I live in. I don't have room for paper.

Once the viewing quality reaches a par with paper andthe format- ting 1mproves, then
I will
probably prefer ebooks.

[jgaiser]

Why Big Publishers Think Genre Fiction Like Sci-Fi Is the Future of E-Books

“Certain categories [of eBooks] have a much larger digital adoption than others,” Dobson said. “The genres were among the first where readers took to the digital format and the ratio of readers of digital, as opposed to physical, are much, much higher.” In the case of some genre titles, as much as 60 to 70 percent of the sales are digital. “I think there is an enormous audience in digital right now,” Dobson said. “It’s actually where the action is.”

It all depends on the question and who you ask.

[tompe]

I prefer paper books also for the reading experience. I sometimes really miss being able just browse or fast change location in a paper book. But I read nearly everything on my Kindle in spite of that but that is because of advantages that do not have to do with the actual reading like better portability, no need for more book shelves, faster access of books and that I sometimes need to be able to change the font size since.

[cromag]

I'm reading a "paper" book now -- a hardcover. I find it a little more clumsy to manage than my ereader, but it includes a lot of illustrations (line drawings comparing dinosaur skulls) that would be harder for my ereader to manage, so it's a compromise.

In general, I prefer my ereader.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Isn't Rasmussen the same group who insisted that Mitt Romney was going to win the election? Yeah, I don't think I'm going to put much faith in this poll.

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Isn't Rasmussen the same group who insisted that Mitt Romney was going to win the election? Yeah, I don't think I'm going to put much faith in this poll.

Yep.. That's the ones. They did well on that one didn't they? Phone polls are getting more and more worthless all the time. A smaller and smaller population have landlines and if the poll doesn't take that into account, it's pretty much worthless.