The results!
At least in this little poll, our e-book overlords seem to have already won.
The percentage of people who said you’d have to pry paper books out of their cold dead hands:
2007: 49%
2008: 45%
2009: 37%
2010: 30%
2011: 25%
The percentage of people who welcome their coming e-book overlords:
2007: 7% (!)
2008: 11%
2009: 19%
2010: 32%
2011: 47%
I believe that’s what’s called a trend.
Here are some other fun links and comments sections to check out. E-book prognostications from 2007! When the Kindle had just come out and cost $400. Can you believe the original Kindle cost $400?! Wow. My how things change.
When Will E-Books Take Over?
Kindle Kindle Burning Bright
And of course…
I love me some data. 🙂
That is some very interesting information. Love the robots.
I knew it.
Good (though perhaps painful) information! And thank you for giving us a few spoons full of sugar to help the medicine go down. 🙂
"e-books will take off when they can be easily downloaded and easily read on a device like a larger iPhone-of-the-future,"
Wow! You sure nailed that one on the head!
Adrianne
Loving the feel of a good book in my hands, I never thought I'd be happy with an e-book. But must admit, now that I have an IPad, I love the ability to turn the backlight up or increase the font size (age??) There's a great discussion on Dystel's site about a possible future that offers e-book bundles https://www.dystel.com/2011/11/what-ebooks-can-learn-from-ecomics/ I love the idea! With each e-book purchase, you receive a physical copy. I'd definitely pay extra for that.
I just love the affordability because I love that I can read books like candy now. Plus, I love how the option of self-pubbing has become more appealing because of how easy e-readers make it to sell a book.
It is amazing how fast we adapt. When my wife bought me a Kindle last April, I was sort of wary. I didnt touch it for a month or two. Then I bought a book, then two. Now, if a book isnt available in an e-format, I have to really convince myself it's worth reading, and even then I'll usually get it from the library. My purchases are at least 80% ebooks.
Flight of the Conchords makes my day a little brighter. Brett McKenzie for the 2011 Best Song Oscar!
Add me to the list of mostly e-books! I just blogged about this very subject.
I'm still in the cold dead hands category. I love ink and paper books and always will! I'm not easily lured in by shiny new things. I like what I already have. 🙂
Life always needs more funny New Zealanders! I'm certain I'd move there if I didn't have to drive on the other side of the road (and therefore die).
I didn't vote, but I will never want an e-book over a physical book. But I might buy both at times. 😉
And yay for Flight of the Conchords! 🙂
I wasn't keen on ebooks originally, but now that I have a kindle, I love them. I also love that I can have so many books without having to figure out where to put them, or which stack to add them to. No matter how big the book, it's all there in my kindle, in my purse. Handy, handy. Love it.
I was anti-e-book until I got a Kindle for Christmas. I, like Adam, didn't touch it for several months. Now, due to diminished shelf space, limited patience, and better prices, I've bought more e-books this year than real books (gasp!).
And I thought I was a stick-to-my-guns girl….*sigh*
Although, I kind of like the fact I can adapt, especially since the siege of e-books is pretty much inevitable.
When I first heard of ereaders, I thought, "Wow, that's EXACTLY what I need." Now we have both a Kindle and a Nook, and I only buy print books if there's a compelling reason (like it's mostly illustrations).
Stats may show trends, but they don't change my preferences.
I like the idea of choice and I like supporting authors. I will buy one or the other if the book appeals to me. But I would be quite annoyed if a book was only offered in ebook form. Not everyone is glued to their tech.
Also, a TBR stack of ebooks I can't see would probably be forgotten. I don't forget TBRs when they're sitting on my shelf. They don't require any type of auxillary power other than the fingers turning the page.
Give me choice, that's what's important.
I got the original kindle. whew, pretty penny indeed!! I still use it. I'm about ready to upgrade to Fire. I'm entering every giveaway I can. I'm thinking by next year there will be an even BETTER one.
I'm still confused about picture books, coffee table books, cook books and gift books? Obviously, it makes great sense for stories but if bookstores go out of business and libraries follow then where does that leave shoppers who want to get away from their computer and go to a store? I'm an e-book author myself, but I find some serious issues with these damaging statistics.
E-books are great. I buy the same books I would have purchased in a bookstore, but I can get them as soon as they come out. Often, in the old days, I read reviews, but by the time the book was in the store I had forgotten about it. I like the ability to adjust the type size my Kindle 3 is just the right size to carry around. No glowing screen to wear out my eyes, though I may break down and get a Fire for movies on trips. Oddly, the only paper books I buy now are local guidebooks from small or independent publishers. Paper is handier on trails for me–maps, charts, non-glowing photos. Most self-published books, sorry. My mother's 90 year old neighbor, my sister's boyfriend, my brother's girlfriend's cat, and just about all the citizens of our town are writing books. They all will be hurt if I don't buy them and love them. I am avoiding people a lot these days.
I think this post needs a good pie chart.
Because then I could think about pie and distract myself from the poor showing of paper books.
Pie. Mmmmmmmmm.
I love that video – fun. 🙂
It is quite something to see the numbers – that is definitely what they call a trend!
You know, like your previous posts show, you predicted this. And, in my comments, I also predicted it (as did some other folks. Which sounds like I'm tooting my own horn, and I am of course, but it's also just alittle weird to watch history unfold in the way you predicted it.
It'd be fun to do a post sometime of upcoming preditions. Then we could check back and see if we're right later on. That would be fun. 🙂
I spent a couple of years trying to convince my (trade) publisher that ebooks were vital. In the end they reverted the ebook rights to me, and I put my novels on Kindle and Smashwords myself.
For smaller publishing houses the expense and time involved in putting backlist online has to be weighed against potential income, whereas for an author who can DIY it's a no brainer.