Lucy Adams

The growing popularity of e-books raises the question: will the paperbacks disappear in the nearest future? Will there finally be an end of the war, which begun along with the release of Kindle (November 19, 2007)?

To make things a bit clearer, let’s compare paperbacks and e-books on several parameters.

#1 Place on the Shelf

E-books are carefully stored on the virtual shelves in your smartphone or “reader,” so you won’t need a truck when moving o another placeJ. As for the traditional books, they take up some space and sometimes covered with dust, but look so beautiful.

#2 Value for Money

Electronic publications are cheaper. Moreover, there are tons of free toms on the Internet. Paper books are more expensive, but this significantly increases the probability of reading.

Don’t you think it’s better to spend some money and get benefits than accumulate stories on your hard drive, not opening any of them?

#3 Concentration on Reading

Undoubtedly, paperbacks are much more engaging. E-reading can easily be interrupted by notifications of social networks, the need to check some facts, etc. It often turns into unplanned internet surfing.

#4 Convenience

E-books are weightless and easily fit in a pocket or purse. You can read while standing in public transport, in lines, etc. Of course, the same can be done with paperbacks, but you have very limited choice and may have problems if you haven’t decided yet on the book worth reading.

#5 Quality of Reading

From force of habit, we read e-books in the same way as materials on the Internet. Diagonal reading significantly reduces the quality of perception, although accelerates the process. Standard reading always initiates an internal dialogue with the author, which enhances the perception and allows to feel the spirit.

As you see, there’s no universal type of book, as both e-books and paperbacks have advantages and disadvantages. It all depends on the needs of a reader. If you appreciate the opportunity to spend time with your favorite heroes, being wrapped in a blanket and hidden from the rest of the world, there’s no better choice for you than a dozen of interesting paperback stories. On the contrary, an e-book is an answer if you have an urgent business or used to read several stories at once.

Let’s consider how the competition goes in different countries.

USA

For many Americans, the word “novelty” is associated with undisputed progress, something better and more efficient. So it is not surprising that in 2011, USA became the first country where the sales of e-books exceeded the sales of paperbacks. The turnover exceeded two billion dollars, which is twice more than in 2010. The boom of e-books is largely explained by the growth in popularity of gadgets, tablets, and smartphones.

Germany

In Germany, despite the traditional conservatism, e-market is also growing rapidly. Well, the scale is completely different than in America. In 2011, the turnover was about 30 million euro. It seems a lot, but the share of e-books in 2015 reached only 4.3% of the overall book market.

UK

In the UK, Ebook sales declined to 2.4%, to 47.9m units (2015). This was the first drop in numbers of books sold since the beginning of the digital era. However, even such pen wizards as J. K. Rowling gradually approve the use of e-books, recognizing the uniqueness of the opportunity to fit the best world’s literature in a pocket. Thus, step by step, they join thousands of Londoners who read e-books on subways and commuter trains.

And this is despite the fact that in the UK, e-books are sometimes more expensive than paperbacks! This is partly explained by the fact that e-books, unlike their paper analogs, are subjected to VAT.

Even some large retail corporations that produce and sell products have seen the promising commercial future in e-books. They invest a lot of money in the industry, so there’s a joke that e-book will become as essential as bread and milk.

Other Countries

The French, the Spanish, and the Italians are significantly behind the Germans and Englishmen. However, in France, almost all bestsellers come out simultaneously in paper and electronic versions. The electronic version is usually 30% cheaper that the paper. As for the piracy, this phenomenon is practically nonexistent due to the draconian penalties in the most countries of European Union.

In Spane and Italy, e-books are just started to gain a market share. Gadgets are cheap, so the main reason for the skeptical attitude to the e-books is the skepticism of writers. Many of them have publicly expressed an aversion, claiming that “soulless” reading can never make you a real connoisseur.

The war between paperbacks and e-books is at full blast. However, I do believe that paperback won’t disappear in the nearest future, at least thanks to those lovers of classical reading who will never exchange the spirit of reading on anything else. Bulky bookshelves filled with paperbacks may become a sign of elitism, but they will still be in our lives, somehow or other.

Lucy Adams is a blogger, an essay writer, and an outsourcer from bestessay4u.co.uk. This active woman loves traveling, communicating with new people, and gaining new skills. Lucy is a generalist who’s always in touch with readers. Feel free to share your ideas and get in-depth papers in return. By the way, guest posts are free!

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