Ebooks still no match for print books

Germans bought more printed books than anywhere else. That's interesting. And India bought the fewest books. I attribute that to poverty and lack of postal services in  many areas. Huge assumptions on my part. My information comes from the few books I've read based in India.

I see Greeks reading books here. Too bad there are no stats.

I'm old fashioned. I like the tangible. The feel of the book in your hand as you head for your favorite spot with a drink or hot beverage in your hand is part of the ritual, and it helps build the excitement. As a fan of Michael Connelly's Bosch, I started out buying the books, and picked up some later ones in digital format when they were on sale. But recently I decided I didn't like the "gaps" in my Bosch shelf, so I visited Alibris and picked up my missing ones. Hardback, too!

But digital is definitely useful. I get the newsletter from BookBub, which alerts me to free and reduced priced Kindle books from Amazon. That's useful when I just want something to read on the go. The newer backlit versions of Kindle and Nook eReaders address the issue of bright sun and low light, plus the text size can be increased, giving "large print" editions of whatever you're reading. Digital books are often much cheaper than their print editions, and even priced the same, the lack of shipping fees still makes them on average the economical choice.

I think the overlooked value of digital is how easy it is to update something. When I look at my Kindle shelf on Amazon, there are often updates available. That's likely just proofing errors, but it's still nice for someone to follow up. Ideally I think school books, especially college-required, should have an eBook option, since the potential is there to keep the information updated at a lesser cost. Publishers would still need an above-average fee, but it could (in theory, anyway) be less than the cost of printing and then (gasp) destroying out-of-date tomes. For community colleges in the U.S., sometimes the cost of the books is half the cost of tuition!

Although that said, my wife, in the health-care industry, has a much beloved collection of books she acquired over the years, and if she had to choose between me and them I fear there would be a "Twix moment." So it's possible one paradigm is "light-reading: digital, reference books: tangible."

I think too, the choice of digital vs tangible comes down to different factors. I stopped collecting and reading comic years ago, though I occasionally find an interesting collected edition and try to find a space on the crowded shelf for "just one more." Among my favorites are the deluxe hard-back, "Absolute" editions of "Justice League: The New Frontier" and "Batman: Hush." These stories are available digitally, but the experience of turning pages, smelling the paper and the ink, it's all part of the tangible experience.

Perhaps another overlooked advantage of some print editions versus digital is their investment value. Those comics I just mentioned I was able to catch on sale, but where I have been able to find them online, their value is nearly three times what I paid for them. I doubt I'll ever sell them, but they should help contribute to my grandchildren's' college fund!

Side note 1: The best book reader I've ever found is the "JetBook." I liked it so well I bought several. It features a transreflective LCD screen. I can read on it comfortably in daylight or even relatively low light. It recognizes virtually all eBook formats. Of course, you have to have non-DRM editions, which is problematic for those less tech-savvy, but I'm praising its readability, not its practicality! I had a PDA that had a transreflective screen in addition to a lighted screen. It was great to use indoors or out. Would love to have a laptop with such a screen. There are some out there, but not in the mainstream.

I thought the Jetbook had been discontinued, but to my surprise the company is still selling them, and they can probably be found on eBay: Jetbook

Side note 2: The low numbers of people in the U.S. purchasing books isn't a surprise. One of my ice-breaking questions when I meet new people are talk to someone I haven't seen in a while is, "What are you reading these days?" I often get a blank stare, then some blinks. Okay, next question...

Thanks for posting the interesting info, Maggie! By the way, here are my go-to sources when I'm looking for cheap (tangible) books: