ebooks
Nick Hornby on why eBook readers don’t (and won’t) sell.
Be careful not to read too far into the comments page, though. It’s full of that special breed of Internet solipsist who hasn’t figured out that their borderline obsessiveness isn’t exactly representative.
But – and this is the most depressing reason – the truth is that people don’t like reading books much anyway: a 2004 survey of two thousand adults found that thirty-four per cent didn’t read books at all. The music industry’s problems are many and profound, but you never see advertisements asking us to listen to more music; there are no pressure groups or government quangos attempting to ensure that we make room in our day for a little Leona Lewis. The problem is getting people to pay for music, not getting people to consume it. Can you see every teenager in Britain harassing their parents for a Kindle? Me neither.