E-book revolution: We're reading more than ever
If you read an e-book in the past year 鈥� or suspected your holiday gift of an e-reader has led you to read more 鈥� you鈥檙e not alone.
Some 21 percent of adults have read an e-book in the past year, according to a new study by the Pew Internet Project. What鈥檚 more, readers of e-books read an average of 10 books more per year than readers of print books.
According to the Pew report, the average reader of e-books had read an average of 24 books in the past 12 months compared to 15 books for non e-book consumers.
In effect, the digital revolution really is transforming our reading habits and the publishing industry as a whole 鈥� and this is just the beginning.
鈥淓very institution connected to the creation of knowledge and storytelling is experiencing a revolution in the way information is packaged and disseminated,鈥� said Lee Rainie, one of the authors of the Pew Internet Project report, in a statement. 鈥淚t鈥檚 now clear that readers are embracing a new format for books and a significant number are reading more because books can be plucked out of the air.鈥�
In fact, some 30 percent of those who read e-content say they spend more time reading, a figure many e-reader owners can attest to. (Of course, you don鈥檛 need an e-reader like a Nook or Kindle, to read e-content. According to the study, among those who reported reading an e-book in the past 12 months, 42 percent had read it on a computer, 41 percent on an e-reading device, 29 percent on a cell phone, and 23 percent on a tablet computer.)聽
And good news for publishers: e-readers also buy more. Those who own e-book reading devices not only read more books, but prefer to buy, rather than borrow, books. (That explains why Amazon is selling Kindles like hotcakes, at a loss 鈥� to sell more content.)聽
As bibliophiles, we have to admit we were relieved to learn that the e-reading revolution hasn鈥檛 left print books, those lovely bastions of literature, in the dust. Those who read e-books are not abandoning print books. On the contrary, some 88 percent of those who read e-books in the past year also read print books, according to the Pew report.
Print books continue to have a place in our hearts (How do you stock your shelves with e-books?), and we鈥檙e not alone.聽In a head-to-head competition, people prefer e-books to printed books when they want speedy access and portability, but print wins out when people are reading to children and sharing books with others.
鈥淓-book readers and tablet computers are finding their place in the rhythms of readers鈥� lives,鈥� said Kathryn Zickuhr, an author of the Pew report, in a statement. 鈥淏ut printed books still serve as the physical currency when people want to share the stories they love.鈥�
We鈥檙e glad there鈥檚 room for both.
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.
