Books, Like the Phoenix, Are Rising from the Ashes

Submitted: The Two Sides Team May 9, 2013

Some critics have said that book sales and book readership are dying. Others have said that the future of books is not printed books, but electronic books. The most recent evidence suggests that neither is true. Books are not dying and electronic versions of books are not displacing printed versions of books.
7 May 2013 – Xerox Blogs

In Greek mythology,
the phoenix is a resilient bird that is regenerated or reborn.
According to the legend. the phoenix obtains new life by arising from
the ashes of its predecessor. For the last few years, there has been a
lot of gloom and doom predictions about the future of books, but the
latest data suggests that books, like the phoenix, may be rising from the ashes and reborn.

Some critics have said that book sales and book readership are dying. Others have said that the future of books is not printed books, but electronic books.
The most recent evidence suggests that neither is true. Books are not
dying and electronic versions of books are not displacing printed
versions of books.

According to the Association of American publishers
report on the 2012 sales, book sales are up 7.4%, which amounts to $451
million in additional revenue for total sales of $6.5 billion. Of
course some of that is tied to the most recent blockbuster books such as
Fifty Shades of Grey and The Hunger Games, but every year there are a few best-selling books.

In addition, conclusions on the impact of e-books is changing. While
the percentage of e-books increased by 42% in 2012, resulting in $1.2
billion in sales, that actually represents a decline in growth. As a
result, there is a growing consensus of opinion that digital book
readership is slowing and could plateau somewhere around 20-25% of all
book readership.

Thats not to say that there is a declining interest in electronic
book reading devices such as e- readers, templates and even smart phones
from Apple, Amazon, Samsung, and Microsoft. But part of the good news
about these devices is that they are reducing the rate of returns of
unsold inventory of print books. According to the analysts from
Publishers Lunch, book returns were down $318 million last year.

The question about book sales, book readership, and the impact of
electronic books is an ongoing debate. The controversy can be traced
back to 1835.
There is evidence to support both the critics and fans of books in
general, printed books, as well as electronic versions of books.

What do you think? Are printed books in decline or stable? Are electronic books stable or growing?