The Rise of E-Reading – An infographic

We talk quite often here at TeleRead about how quickly e-reader ownership is growing—and as a result, how strongly the print publishing industry is feeling the digital blow—but sometimes it’s easier to comprehend (and retain) statistical data when it’s presented to us in the form of the ever-popular inforgraphic.

The first graphic below, by the way, comes from Schools.com, which seems to have produced an infographic about nearly every career opportunity under the sun: How to become a firefighter; How to become a sonographer; etc. (The chart-graphic beneath it comes from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.)

At any rate, the first section of the infographic references a stat that I’m sure most of us remember seeing multiple stories about, right after the end of the 2011 holiday season: The big news was that in the period of just one month—between December 2011 and January 2012—the percentage of Americans who owned e-readers nearly doubled, from 10 percent to 19 percent. (That figure, by the way, refers only to owners of dedicated e-reading devices. It doesn’t include tablets.)

The reason I mention this is because I’m already waiting—patiently, I might add—for the first of the e-reader-sales prediction stories that are all but certain to appear sometime after Thanksgiving. This has definitely been The Year of the Tablets, and as Adam Turner recently pointed out in the Sydney Morning Herald, “e-Ink might be the best tool for the [e-reading] job but, just like cameras, the best e-book reader is the one you’ve got with you. For many people, once they own a tablet they’re more likely to buy e-books on that device rather than carry around a separate e-Ink e-book reader.”

Which brings up a good point: I’m sure we’ll see more stories about tablet sales than e-reader sales once January 2013 rolls around. But someone, of course, will release e-reader sales statistics after the holidays end, and I suspect that will be one of the most eye-opening digital reading stories of the season—assuming the numbers turn out to be particularly higher or lower than what most expects will be predicting in November and December. In the meantime, scroll down to see the e-reading numbers we already do know.

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The Rise of eReading: Are Books Going to Become an Endangered Species?

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8 Comments on The Rise of E-Reading – An infographic

  1. I smile because I got my first dedicated ereader in 2008 and haven’t looked back. The only dead-tree books I’ve gotten since then were promptly sent off to a book scanner service.

  2. I started reading digital books 3 years ago and haven’t read a paper book since. I understand the need to hold a book in your hands, but I also like the fact that I don’t have to keep buying bookshelves to hold my growing inventory of books.

  3. I have a Kindle, but I still enjoy paper books. Sometimes it is more convenient to check a paper book out from the library when a digital copy is not available. That way I don’t have to buy it either. I enjoy the convenience of my Kindle, but I have not completely written off paper books yet and I don’t anticipate doing so anytime in the near or distant future.

  4. I have a smartphone with a Kindle app. I was hesitant, at first, but so far my experience with the ereader has been positive. I still get print books, though. Haven’t switched over fully.

  5. I own both a Kindle and a Nook, but I still cannot give up my library card. Because much as I like reading in bed, only a real live book can hit the floor if I fall asleep. And the next morning all I have to do is pick the book up off the floor — undamaged. I can’t exactly say the same for the Kindle or Nook!

  6. I LOVE my Kindle Fire!I can get my email on it, send myself white papers to read at the gym, borrow free books as an Amazon Prime member, check Facebook, watch Netflix in the middle of the night…but I do suffer from eye strain more often now, so I have to monitor it between it and the computer.

  7. The day after Christmas, 2011, was by far the busiest day ever for the ebook website used by the library system(s) in Wisconsin. iirc, they had as many hits that day as they had had year-to-date.

    I had a Simple Nook and read a few books on it, but once I got an iPad and found the apps that enabled me to read books on it, I gave the Nook to my 23-yo son. He is a techie and not a reader, but he loves it — has read more books in the past 3 months than the past 10 years.

  8. I am hoping to get a Kindle Fire for Christmas. For now I am reading books on my computer. I love the electronic books, I can download and read a new book anytime I want. I also have downloaded a bunch of free books from FreeEbooksDaily and found some great new authors.

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