The So-Called eBook Sales Slump
Opinion: The current eBook sales slump is self inflicted. The publishing industry is intentionally deflating eBook sales. Maybe they’re trying to fight against Amazon somehow. At any rate, one way in which they’re doing this is raising the price of the ebook higher than the paperback. For example, books that I wish to purchase for various reasons, including family read-alouds and science fiction for my own personal entertainment. This is a smattering of books in no particular order. They’re just books I was looking to purchase soon. This is in no way a scientific or statistical exploration.
Ready Player One, published by Broadway Books. It is a dystopian novel that comes highly recommended from a good friend of mine and his wife, who happens to be a librarian.
The Martian, published by Broadway Books, actually goes against this trend. It’s a penny cheaper than the paperback. Honestly, I’m okay with it being the same price. If I hadn’t already read it, I might buy it.
Charlotte’s Web, published by HarperCollins. It’s a classic.
The Indian in the Cupboard, published by Yearling (Random House). Another classic.
James and the Giant Peach, published by Puffin Books. All the Roald Dahl books I looked at were like this.
Seveneves, published by William Morrow (Harper Collins). This one is in the list of the 2015 reader’s choice awards on Goodreads. But I won’t be voting for it because it’s to expensive for me. I’ll wait until the price comes down, it is available on my library’s ebook collection, or I can borrow it from somebody. There are many more books I could read from great Authors like Hugh Howey or John Scalzi for cheaper. There’s choice in the marketplace.
The eBook format is much better than paper in my opinion. I prefer reading on my tablet and my phone than carrying paper everywhere. I’ve got three paperbacks in my backpack right now for a class I’m taking. And its a lot harder to finish the reading in the paperbacks because I can’t read in the hallways between meetings or whenever I have a free moment.
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