According to the Association of American Publishers, U.S. book sales fell 1.8% in 2009. Adult hardcover sales increased last year, but paperback sales decreased. Children’s hardcover sales decreased, but children’s paperback sales increased.
The only unabashed good news in the report? E-book sales increased by 176% last year, and Americans now buy more e-books than they do audio books.
Books are for losers.
If it doesn’t have an e- or an i- before it, I’m not buying it.
Well, I didn’t buy a single book last year (of any flavor). I sure did read a lot of things from the library and swap books with friends, though. Let me know when you figure out how to do that with your e-books.
That means I eat a lot of edamame.
And i-ce cream.
@3, the Seattle Public Library and King County Library System both check out a wide array of e-books. I’ll bet Denver does too.
I wonder what the “minus blockbuster” figures look like. With no Harry Potter or Twilight on offer, sales of real books could be doing relatively OK but you wouldn’t know it from the numbers. Also, the “minus recession” figures. I know that Borders, for one, has possibly turned it around. The crisis may be more of a nuanced affair than previously believed.
Hardcover sales up? I guess Will was wrong about that too.
And I-rish Coffee. Ok, I’m done.
Thank god J K Rowling is mulling another Harry Potter book; she will single-handedly stave off the coming publishing death rattle for another four years.
5280,
http://downloadmedia.denverlibrary.org/1…
Thanks, Fnarf.
Not so constant (book) readers
It’s not like there was a worldwide global recession or anything …