Writers Tricks of the Trade Volume 5, Issue 6 | Page 17

PRESS “CONTROL” THEN CLICK “BUY” TO PURCHASE ANY BOOK WHO IS READING BOOKS THESE DAYS? According to new survey findings from Pew Research Center, the number of e-book readers has remained flat, and the overall number of book readers has dipped a bit from the previous year. BUY BUY According to a survey conducted in March and April, they report whether in whole or in part and in any format, seven-in-ten American adults, or approximately 72%, have read a book within the past year compared to 79% who said in 2011 they had read a book in the previous year. The more these numbers drop and the number of books published rises, the more effort authors and publishers must exert to capture readers. Many book publishers, researchers and retailers have long wondered about the impact ebooks would have on book reading overall, and whether they would lead to a decline in the number of books read in print as they became more and more popular. This year’s data show a slight decline in the number of American adults who read print books: 63% of American adults say they read at least one book in print in the past year, compared with 69% who said the same the year before and 71% in 2011, but it appears that print books are here to stay and won’t become dinosaurs as some feared. WRITERS’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE PAGE 15 BUY NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2015