As an ancient book reading carrier, paper seems to be revived. Today, from the first generation Eight years have passed since the launch of the Kindle, which is far from the first generation Five years have passed since the iPad was released.
     
But now it seems that digital and printing technology can coexist, and it is not necessary to kill each other.

The book sales data in 2014 is surprising. According to Nielsen's statistics, the sales of printed books in the United States increased by 2.4% last year, including books purchased through Amazon and various bookstores.

The sales of printed books obviously reached the bottom in 2012, but children's books and adult non fiction books began to grow since then, and the main form has also changed from paperback books to hardcover books.

Students also began to re embrace printed books. Many surveys have found that students prefer printed textbooks, especially college students who have tried printed books and e-books. stay About 57% of the surveyed students prefer printed textbooks, while only 21% prefer electronic textbooks.

At the same time, e-books seem to have entered a plateau period. According to the statistics of the Association of American Publishers, although e-books achieved "unprecedented growth" in 2012, the sales of e-books in 2013 only increased by 3.8%. The first three quarters of 2014 saw a moderate growth of 5.6%.

Although the statistics of e-book sales by major institutions are not uniform, the range is roughly the same: e-books account for about 27% of book sales in the United States, perhaps up to one-third.

Why do physical books rebound? On the one hand, it may come from the way we understand books, on the other hand, it may also come from the fact that e-books and e-readers still fail to resonate with readers.

　　 Understanding

Several studies have found that people read differently on screen and paper, and screen reading is more easily distracted. Researchers from James Madison University speculate that people will quickly and repeatedly browse e-book pages, while eye tracking software shows that they will read printed books line by line. Therefore, it takes longer and more effort to understand the same content on e-books.

In addition, e-books can also distract attention. For example, many e-books designed for children are full of animation, games and other digital elements. The Qionganzkuni Center of Sesame Street Studio found that after reading the same story, children readers of e-books remember far less than children readers of printed books. Another study found that young readers often skip the text of e-books to view "interesting" content.

Even for adults, there are so-called Facebook factors. When I replace my dedicated Kindle e-reader with a Kindle Fire tablet, I will often be tempted, including email alerts, status updates, chat messages, etc. I believe there are many people like me.

　　 Intuitionism

If I ask you how you can mark pages or paragraphs on the next printed book, you will surely think I am a fool. You can mark some words with a pen, take notes in the blank space of the page, or fold the page directly.

But in e-books, you must open the menu to find the right tool, learn how to use it, and even overcome its limitations, in order to finally achieve the goal. Different from hands and pens, the tools used in various platforms are also varied.

Take notes for example. A study by Ryerson University found that readers must remember some operation methods when using electronic notes. Paper notes are easier to operate than electronic notes.

Yes, e-book tools have been greatly improved, but from this point of view, "a good computer is better than a bad pen".

　　 Scholarly feeling

I will not ignore another important factor: some people still like the touch, weight and aroma of books. Its user interface has evolved over centuries. For some people, it is a pleasant experience to open a thick cover and listen to the sound of the friction between the spine and the page.

In addition, the beautifully designed printed book cover also makes us never forget that we are the owner of a book, which is incomparable to the text list or thumbnail in the Kindle library, because it is in front of you and on your bookshelf, you can read it at any time.

In addition, ownership is also a major factor. Remember Amazon's behavior of deleting its Kindle e-book without user's permission? The research of Ryerson University shows that digital content gives readers a poor sense of permanence, while printed books really belong to them and are not controlled by "publishers or IT developers"

But this does not mean that the printing book industry has always been thriving. In 2014, the sales of public paperback books were still declining, with a sharp decline of 10.3% while the sales of other books were rising.

These palm sized soft covers have always been the dominant genre of adult fiction, such as love, fantasy and mystery novels. Self published e-book authors have entered the field of genre books on a large scale, which may eat into the sales of printed books. For such novels, the years long "Holocaust" has not yet ended.

The report that printed books are going to die is really exaggerated. In the short term, printed books and e-books will coexist. Until they are difficult to distinguish in function, mode and sense.