PAPER BOOKS ON THE REBOUND

Paper books are slowly regaining their power against the ever-growing e-book community. All hail paper, as it really is the best way to read. 

Paper books, in the past and now the near future known as ‘real books’, are coming back. Yes, you read it right, lowly pressed wood pulp is on the rebound.

After the Amazon Kindle was released, now over 8 years ago, there was a huge audience shift in those who actually wanted to still read the so-called ‘uncool’ paper book. It sold out in just five and a half hours and was out of stock for over five months. Now, they’re everywhere for you to buy. Advertisements on social media pages, search engines and emails are the most common place to see e-books, now more than ever after this need for paper.

The end of 2014 saw the surge of people were demanding paper books instead of e-books, shown in a study from Nielsen BookScan where sales rose 2.4%, with total units topping 635 million. As Publishers Weekly puts it, “the 2014 figures are further evidence that print books are selling better than they have since sales of eBooks exploded in 2010.” It’s more common for teenagers and adults to rekindle with paper books, as children are more prone to use e-books, as they’re what they have always known. Even students are rediscovering paper books, regardless of the ever-growing need for technology. A recent study by Hewlett Packard showed how there is a preference for paper books nowadays for those who have tried both. In the survey, 57% preferred print and only 21% preferred an e-book.

A main human factor for the rebound of paper books is the enjoyment of having it in hand. As GeekWire stated, “for some types of reading, the physical act of opening a thick cover and listening to the whispered crackle of spine and pages is part of the enjoyment.” E-books create distractions and in fact cause headaches due to the backlit screens. Therefore, its quite obvious why holding a real book and sitting in a quiet corner with a lamp on is much for therapeutic, and is what reading is all about.

Isn’t it true that reading a digital book distracts us a lot easier? Pick back up your paper books and experience the indulgence again.

Written by Megan McCoig - 20th December 2015.