The Fall of the e-book by Bethonie Waring
Ever since they appeared in the mists of cyber space, e-books
have been a topic of discussion. There’s been talk of the
physical market dying out within years and, in some cases, a
‘snob-like’ glare at the readers of digital books from those
who prefer to read from good old fashioned paper. But is the
debate coming to a premature close? Tim Waterstone, the
founder of the Waterstone’s book shop, believes the e-book
revolution is set to fall.
There’s no denying e-books defiantly have a place in the
market. On the thirty minute bus ride to college, I regularly
see at least three people with their tablets out, reading. The
rise of Fifty Shades of Grey sparked rumours of an increase in
e-book readers so people could read the more erotic style of
fiction without their fellow public transport users knowing.
And, in the first eight months in 2013, US sales of e-books
were worth $800 million, but that’s a solid 5% drop from the
previous year, the first year-on-year decline since e-books
appeared.
Of course, nothing is certain yet, and figures for the rest of
the year aren’t yet available (but whilst e-book sales were
falling, hardback book sales increased by 11.5%). There are
still hundreds, if not more, of e-books published daily, but
this news of falls in sales suggests e-books aren’t the death
of physical books as some people have predicted.