The leaves are changing, Christmas music is in the air, and it’s time for our annual e-book poll, which I have held every year since 2007.
Which means this is the FIFTH ANNUAL e-book poll. Wow. Thanks to everyone who has been around for all five.
Let’s get the disclaimers out of the way: Yes, I’m aware this isn’t the most
scientific of polls. Yes, the sample has changed from year to year. Yes,
there are two polls from 2009 because I forgot one at the end of ’08.
Entertainment purposes only!
Here are the past polls:
2007
2008 (technically beginning of ’09)
2009
2010
And here is this year’s poll. Do you think there will come a time when
you buy mostly e-books? Do you already? Click through for the poll if you’re reading via
e-mail or in a feed reader:
Kristin Laughtin says
Already am. There has to be a compelling reason now for me to consider print (unless I'm getting the book through the library; then I get whatever they have).
Adam Heine says
The progression is pretty interesting across the years.
This, by the way, is the first year I changed my answer from "Depends on the price/technology" to "Absolutely." The $99 Kindle Touch has a lot to do with that.
Mira says
Wow, this poll is interesting! That's so cool that you do this annually, Nathan. The change in results is pretty dramatic.
I only read e-books now. I refuse to buy print, it takes up too much space and I prefer the ease of a reader to holding a book up. Even when a book isn't available as a e-book, I wait.
Although I own a Kindle, which I love, my preference is to read on my phone, because it's back-lit and fits in my palm and pocket. So, I can read anytime, anywhere. And I use it as a handy flashlight when the power goes out. 🙂
I do agree with some commentors that research is tricky to do on an e-reader. It's not as mobile as print yet. But I imagine that will change soon, someone will figure out a new app or something. Matter of time, especially with the demand of the student market.
Jillian says
As a student, I see a lot of potential in e-books. (If you've ever gone to your local state college bookstore, and have seen how much schools ream out of students, then–like me–you'd see potential as well). However the number of textbooks in e-book format are limited, if not 0–and would end up costing students extra anyway. I've never had a professor offer an online textbook without requiring the physical book as well –which, if you ask me, defeats the purpose of an online textbook (I've never had a professor assign an e-book textbook ever, so I'm basing my opinion off my experience with online textbooks.)
If you consider all that you have to pay for in order to buy e-books, then they're obscenely overpriced. You may save a few bucks off the price of the hardcover. However, you have to pay anywhere between $80 and $200 bucks, if not more, in order to be able to even read an e-book. E-book readers are being gouged. Yeah, some books can be read for free on e-book readers. However, you can read books for free on any computer legally at, for instance, Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org/). At this point, I feel like e-books are just a toy that is fun to have as opposed to a need that would actually help.
Also, I shop at used book stores a lot. I can find used paperback novels from my favorite authors for 50 cents each at my local Friends of the Library Used Book Store. At that same store, I can find hardbacks for $1.50 and all recent novels (which are classified as novels published in the last 3 years) for $3.00 each. There's no such thing as a "used e-book" that customers could buy to save money. And from what I've heard, most e-book technology even limits who you can lend e-books, that you have purchased, out to.
As a student and as someone who loves reading, I'm not going to shell out the money in order to own something that is a want and not a need. However, if the prices dropped significantly and made it actually save readers money, then I would jump ship in a heartbeat.
Alyson Greene says
Obviously the times they are a changin', but I wonder how the dramatic change in the poll this year reflects your change in career, Nathan.
As a literary agent, your audience was book people who would be more inclined toward paper books. But now that you work for CNet, I'm sure your audience also includes many tech people who probably embrace e-books more easily.
Mira says
Jillian – I was recently a student, I had a different experience. I saw alot of advantages of e-books, and bought some of my textbooks that way.
For one thing, just not having to cart all those heavy books to and from class – well, that was a HUGE advantage.
Maybe it helped that I didn't also have to buy the hard copy. One professor recommended the e-book, and another couple of them complimented me when they saw I had the e-book rather than the hard copy.
I used my cell phone in school, not an e-reader.
I actually think the student market is completely primed for e-books. As soon as they come up with a better way to mark and flip through pages quickly, students and professors (who have to research and might prefer to carry all their books with them in e-format) will switch over.
One more comment – watching these polls, well it's like watching history in action. We seeing a massive technology change right in front of us.
Mira says
Okay, sorry, last comment from me.
Allyson, I get what you're saying about Nathan's readership, but actually, the poll is reflecting U.S. statistics.
Check out this link, just one example from August 2011:
https://www.mediabistro.com/ebooknewser/ebook-sales-up-116-in-august_b17180
E-book sales were up 116% in August, while everything else was in the negative except audiobooks.
Anonymous says
It's interesting. If you plot the "Absolutely" votes on a plot, it's an exponential growth curve, which hits 100% late in 2012. While I don't expect readers to totally convert by 2013, it looks like the amount of time publishers have to reinvent themselves as digital book sellers is very short.
Adrianne
Suzanne says
It's interesting how we change…when the Kindle first came out I swore I'd never leave my paper books. Now, as my eyesight gets worse and large print editions are generally my book of choice, I've come to appreciate reading off my backlit tablet using a kindle app.
Kate says
E-books are great if it's impractical to have a large physical library. I lived in Korea for the last four years, and every purchase was made with the understanding that it would have to be mailed home or gotten rid of at the end of my stay. Now that I'm home, however, it's solid books all the way– if I'm not sure if I want a physical copy, I check it out of the library first. My Kindle is still convenient for trips, though!
Jami says
Two main things switched me from the Cold Dead Hands category to the Absolutely… In a year.
I got a kindle for winter holidays last year, and I traveled a lot this year. Having the ability to not pack my carry on with a minimum of 1 book per every 2 hours of flight actually got me to the point where if I pack correctly, a week out of town no longer requires me to check any bags. Plus, I tend to overbuy on books, so I always have something to read, regardless of what I'm in the mood for. And 2. I no longer have to worry about where I'm going to put yet another box of books (Used book store habit routinely resulted in my coming home with ~50 books every couple of months… I'm a sucker for cheap). I still by paper copies (along with E copies) for certain authors, but that has more to do with wanting their numbers to look good, and wanting something for them to sign next time I run into them, than actually reading them in paper format.
Catherine Perdue says
I could not decide with choosing between Ebook and a paperback books. For someone like me who loves books, of course I will choose the real one, but having an Ebook is much easier because you can bring it anytime. However, I still go for the real book because staring at the screen will only get my eyes go a little sore.
Brian Tarbox says
Buying most books from Amazon makes this easy. Last year I bought 22 ebooks and 2 pbooks. This year I bought 30 ebooks and 0 pbooks.
Michelle Miller says
I'm still 'cold dead hands' for one simple reason: you can't put an e-book on a shelf.
Alex Beecroft says
I already do buy more ebooks than print. In fact I get all huffy if I can't get the book I want in ebook format, and reconsider getting it at all. I've already filled the house with print books. I have no more room for them.
Katherine Hyde says
I voted "maybe," but your criteria are not the same as mine. What might force me to buy more ebooks is the fact that my house cannot hold any more print books. I still prefer print books in every other way.
One thing I miss when I read an ebook is good design. Of course, not all print books are well designed, but very few ebooks are–it's nearly impossible given the constraints of the medium.
Anonymous says
In the past year I've accumulated two e-readers and a tablet. I haven't read a print book in a year and don't want to go back to reading them. I only buy e-books now.
Robena Grant says
I've voted in all of the past polls and until this year I was a maybe. Today I voted absolutely. I still love print books but adore my kindle.
Daniel McNeet says
Nathan,
Another good post. I buy non-fiction books if I am going to use them for research. I buy fiction books also which are historical novels. My light reading I enjoy reading on my Kindle. The political thriller, "Operation Downfall" and other genre are on my kindle. E-readers are winning.
Hope you had a good Thanksgiving.
Anonymous says
Daniel McNeet,
Way to plug your own book in an inappropriate way. Seemed off so I searched it. Shameless. So not buying it now.
Norma Beishir says
I've already converted most of my library to either ebooks or digital audio.
And they're good for the environment.
Molly says
I don't even own an e-Reader or an iPhone, but I still think it is something I might consider. I love the idea of having all my favorite books with me when I travel.
Jillian says
Mira,
I agree that e-books could be a huge advantage for students–cut back on the books you have to lug into class, help you stay organized. I see a lot of potential in it. However, e-book forms of textbooks have never been offered in any class I've ever taken. If they were offered, I would buy one in a heartbeat. However I don't have a cell phone that would read ebooks, and there aren't that many options at my school (or maybe it's just my major) to get my textbooks via e-book–even if I had an e-book reader.
I think e-books will play a huge part on college campuses someday, but in my experience they haven't yet, unless you're an English major and the majority of the books you have to buy are works of literature. I'm going to school to be a teacher, so none of my linguistics, history, or childhood development textbooks are in e-book form.
Until there are e-book versions of textbooks available in a wide variety of subjects, I don't think e-books can be used in the classroom on a big scale. Though I'm sure that during my lifetime, I could very well see that transition occur. I bet some public schools will eventually experiment with the technology. There is a lot of buzz in the educational community about using technology in the classroom right now (at least in my area). However for either of those to occur, a wider variety of e-books have to be available and the prices of e-book readers have to go down.
Leigh Ann says
I already buy mostly e-books. Keeping paper books around is nearly impossible with three small children running around – actually reading them is even harder.
My Kindle is the only thing that's enabled me to actually read anything in the last five years, since my first was born. I'll be forever grateful, and I only break the e-reading pattern for ARCs (which I'm grateful to have a good handful of.)