Physical book sales nosedive

The number of paperback books sold in the UK has slumped dramatically since Christmas thanks to the increasing popularity of e-readers such as the Kindle.

Sales of printed novels over the first four weeks of 2012 fell by over a million copies compared to the same month a year ago. The number of novels sold in January was just under four million, a decline of 25 per cent compared to January 2011.

Total book sales in the UK over the month – including non-fiction books such as cookbooks – fell by 12 per cent compared to January 2011.

Spending on printed, as opposed to electronic, books is now believed to be at the lowest level for almost a decade. The decline will heap pressure on traditional high street bookshops, which are already suffering due to the economic downturn and high rents.

The fall in sales of physical books has been attributed to the rapidly-growing popularity of Kindles and other e-readers, which display virtual books that are downloaded from the internet. A total of 1.33 million e-readers were sold in the UK over Christmas. This was double the amount sold the previous Christmas. Around one in 40 of all adults in the UK were given a Kindle over Christmas, making them far and away the most popular present in the country.

The trend of falling printed book is mirrored in other countries. According to Nielsen Book Scan, a company which tracks book sales, the number of printed books sold around the world is in steady decline. Jonathan Nowell, the company’s president, told a conference in Italy that the decline in sales of real books in the US has doubled over two years. Meanwhile sales of e-books have doubled every year for the last four years.

Italy is one of the few countries where fiction sales are still growing, according to The Bookseller magazine.

Glossary nosedive: caer en picado

Question 1. Indicate whether these sentences are true or false. Justify your answers with evidence from the text.

a) People bought a lot more novels in January last year than this year.
b) In the UK, only the sales of fiction books have dropped
c) Giving online reading devices as presents is becoming increasingly popular.
d) The fall in sales of printed books has only taken place in Europe.

Question 2. Answer the following questions in your own words.

a) Why are people buying fewer and fewer printed books?
b) How do e-readers work?

Question 3. Find a word or a phrase in the text that means the same as:

a) because of (par. 4) b) show (par.5) c) tendency (par.6)

Question 4. Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning.

a) Spending on printed books is now believed to be at the lowest level.
People ............................................................................................
b) "The decline in sales of real books in the US has doubled over two years while sales of e-books have doubled every year."
Jonathan Nowell said that .................................................
c) People buy fewer books because they download books from the internet.
If people.................................................

Question 5. Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

What do you think about e-readers? Do you prefer printed books?