Darn It, Santa, I said Leave a BOOK Under the Tree, NOT an E-Ebook is the catchy headline in Richard Curtis’s E-Reads blog. He quotes from a survey, What Do Teens Want?—the results of which appeared in Publishers Weekly:
When we asked about their affection for a digital reading device for fun reading (not schoolwork) if the price were affordable, 46% said they preferred printed books. Another 38% said they would like one, and 16% indicated they were not sure how they felt about this.
When asked if they’d like to read textbooks as e-books, they were evenly split, with 36% saying yes, 33% saying they were not sure, and 31% saying they would not be interested.
Nearly one-quarter (24%) have read an e-book, while 27% would like to read one. Almost half (49%) said they have no interest in reading e-books.
When asked how they have read an e-book, 26% have done so on a computer while 33% used a dedicated digital reading device and 5% used another method. Seven out of 10 (71%) say they have never read one.
Ah, but here’s the kicker. While 46 percent said they preferred p-books, that still leaves open lots of opportunities for E.
Furthermore, there’s the price issue. It affects p-books, too, with some publishers overreaching and wanting more than $30 for a recreational p-book. Meanwhile the price of e-reading hardware keeps falling, with eBookwise offering an older model for just $89. And e-books are inherently more affordable than P. While both E and P share unavoidable production costs, such as for editing, digital technology could still bring down prices, expanding the teen market for recreational books among others.
What’s more, adding the 24 percent and 27 percent, I’ll note that the survey revealed that 51 percent of the 4,000 showed an open-mindedness toward E at the very least—not jut for school alone, I suspect. What’s more, 71 percent said they hadn’t even read e-books. So how valid can their opinions about them be, without a little hands-on? If nothing else, keep in mind that many teens are constantly on the go and could get a lot more reading done with E.
I enjoy E-Reads, but, Richard, are you sure you want to stick with your current headline?
