No one buys books

[Milestones]

I know quite a few people who are published writers (mostly fiction writers), and I wouldn't be surprised if sales are more like 200 copies.  

I have to confess that I have rarely been in the habit of buying new books--at least not for a long time.  I'm more into used books; I haunt Half Price Books and thrift stores.  My interest is definitely toward older, classic titles.

 

 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

11 hours ago, sidewinder said:

This thread is titled 'No one buys books'. No mention of whether or not new.

The initial post was clearly about new books:

On 4/27/2024 at 6:45 AM, gvopedz said:

The DOJ’s lawyer collected data on 58,000 titles published in a year and discovered that 90 percent of them sold fewer than 2,000 copies and 50 percent sold less than a dozen copies.

https://www.elysian.press/p/no-one-buys-books

 

 

I used to buy a lot of new hardcover books until about 15 years ago. I had favorite authors that I would buy their latest on the release day and I would often peruse the "New Arrivals" section at my local Barnes & Noble for new authors to check out. Then I was given a Kindle for Christmas. I didn't use it much in the beginning but it has become my preferred way to read books. Even now, I don't find myself buying new books much. I sort through the digital offerings at the Maine digital library as well as Amazon's free Prime books. Nothings beats free. My local library offers e-books to "check out" too but their wait lists are ridiculous.

[JSngry]

I don't buy comic books any more. Maybe that's what the meant.

[T.D.]

I used to buy lots of new books. But I've downsized, and hardcovers pile up on shelves and are difficult to get rid of.

Nowadays my purchases are mainly used books or Kindle, unless there's something relatively exotic I find compelling. I can borrow highly publicized books or works by famous authors pretty easily through interlibrary loan.

But it depends on one's field of interest. A poetry buff will likely buy many books that sell 100 copies or less, published by obscure or private presses. Ditto amateur historians who specialize in their local regions.

[sidewinder]

1 hour ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

The initial post was clearly about new books:

Why the negativism? All inputs to this thread should be invited instead of applying your interpretation. If nothing else, it makes the board more welcoming.

Not worth my effort commenting further. 🙄

Edited April 30 by sidewinder

[Chuck Nessa]

In the last decade (or so) I have only purchased books by or about friends or people I know.

[Kevin Bresnahan]

9 hours ago, sidewinder said:

Why the negativism? All inputs to this thread should be invited instead of applying your interpretation. If nothing else, it makes the board more welcoming.

Not worth my effort commenting further. 🙄

Negativism? What are you talking about? The initial post, if you read it, was about a publisher's publicized sales figures for new books. The editor of that article titled it, "No One Buys Books". The story was not about used books. That is all.

If the story was that no one is buying hardcopies of books these days, I would not have said a word about this new or used thing.

And FWIW, my daughter made me join Goodreads a few years ago so she could see how many books I read every year so she could challenge me. I read about 75 books each year & expect that to go up when I retire. I read a lot of books, mostly on my Kindle but occasionally with hardcopies mostly borrowed from my local library or taken from one of these new "mini-libraries" that pop up on suburban streets.

[JSngry]

I understand that (used) vintage cookbooks are popular these days!

[Dub Modal]

I either wait for paperbacks or audio versions. After that it's the library. Unless it's for a good cause or someone i know, I tend to avoid hardbacks.