Print Sales Of New Wilbur Smith Book Indicate Print Comeback

FutureBook:

The performance of thriller writer Wilbur Smith's latest book suggests that e-book sales (at very low prices) do not necessarily threaten print book sales. In fact, as we saw with The Hanging Shed, digital can help drive print.

Read the whole story: FutureBook

Comments

[osofar]

08:48 AM on 04/15/2011

In the court martial of James T. Kirk, his attorney prefered real books to electronic ones.

[osofar]

08:44 AM on 04/15/2011

Unfortuantely, since I live and work in China, real books are scarce in English, and due to plane travel, you cannot haul many books as easily as in an E-book reader.

[Mary Daugherty]

01:14 PM on 04/14/2011

There will never be anything as comforting to a reader than holding a good book and turning the pages.

[portrait of a lady]

02:18 PM on 04/14/2011

A Miss Mary after mine own heart. How can one compare to a piece of metal to a book with pages to turn indeed. I could not think of a better word that comforting. Just hold a book in one hands is a joy and a pleasure.

[Amber Troska]

09:47 AM on 04/15/2011

You can't compare them, but it is perfectly feasible to like both forms for different reasons.

[Januarycarol]

12:49 PM on 04/14/2011

Look around. It never went away.

[iLuvKOSHi]

12:24 PM on 04/14/2011

I LOVE the smell & feel of a REAL book. I prefer paperbacks to hardcovers & any kind of book-book to a download. I highlight them, write in the margins & dog-ear my favorite pages. My library may look shlumpy & worn, but it's mine & so well-loved. Bonus Points- it's radiation free!

[portrait of a lady]

02:20 PM on 04/14/2011

You are a true book lover! I've seen women at restaurants with the kindle propped up in front of them and it just doesn't work for me. I don't like to be judgmental here but they those people don't seem to be real readers or truly love books.

[iLuvKOSHi]

03:05 PM on 04/14/2011

I am definitely suspicious of kindles & the like (though maybe they're good for frequent travelers???)... Just wouldn't be the same for me. I'm glad you know what I mean!

[Amber Troska]

09:53 AM on 04/15/2011

Unfair. I have a growing print library and a Kindle. I have adored books since before I can remember anything else, and the kindle gives me a portable library, so I can read more and don't have to carry an entire bag full of books when I travel somewhere. Books, as objects, are one of the most comforting things on the planet, the feel, the smell, the sound of turning pages, but if you love reading it's not just about the object, because if the book really pulls you in, you forget what you're holding. I don't think a line in the sand is necessary; I have never spoken with anyone who owns an e-reader and has stopped buying physical books, an e-reader is simply an addition to the library, not the library itself.