Printed books are dying. That is what lots of people are saying in this growing technological age. Younger generation are not interested in physical books, they would much rather read them online. This is a lie. Yes, the amount of people reading online books is growing vastly as more resources become available to us but that does not mean that the traditional book is dying out. Like all products, the sales of book types fluctuate.
Are e-books a threat?
For a little while it seemed that e-books were going to dethrone the traditional printed book. However, in 2018 digital book sales actually declined by 2% and the print book sales increased by 1.3%. This heavily suggests that we are moving back to physical books within the book sale market (https://www.printweek.com/print-week/news/1165127/printed-books-turn-a-new-leaf-as-digital-sales-decline). As a young person who loves reading, Ifind that digital books are a fantastic invention: who wouldn’t love hundreds of books tucked away in a small device which can just slip into your back pocket and be transported anywhere? But that does not mean that I just neglect print books entirely.
The essence of the physical book
When discussing books with those in my class I have often found that most of us prefer to have a printed copy of the book. There is something about physically holding and turning the pages of a book that just can’t be replicated with a digital version. Also the smell of books, both old and new, is comforting. So no, printed books are not dying, they are stronger than ever.