Every generation writes its own eulogy for the printed book. These days, the ebook does the killing. But newspaper, radio, and television have all been accused of “killing the printed book” in the past.
The book, however, is still here, so it might be more accurate to discuss these threats as attempted murders.
It also might be wise to look closely at how readers choose to spend their money when analyzing the impact of ebooks on the printed word.
As Lester Freeman of The Wire often said, “you start to follow the money, and you don’t know where the fuck it’s gonna take you.”
That’s exactly what Retale, an online shopping portal, has done.
Turns out, printed books make way more money than ebooks (with about 500% more revenue).
Here’s a screenshot of the infographic after 1800 seconds:
Of course, you could argue that ebooks cost less. But they don’t cost 5X less!
, according to Digital Book World, while School Library Journal reported
Add to these numbers the recent struggles of ebook-only publisher Byliner, and it would seem that the printed book is withstanding yet another attempt on its life.
So no need to worry…
Well, almost no need.
It can’t be good that we spend nearly as much on firearms as we do print books.
