This on the media post deals with a topic that is somewhat contradictory to our technological world, and that is that print is rising in numbers rather than the opposite.
There are several reasons for that, we see an increase in coloring books, and independent publishers are getting into the market and not to mention that the sales of book is based off of the current popular books on the market.
Personally I am one of those people that has a "stress relieving" colouring book, and I thought it would be something fun to do on the 25 hour trip between St. George and Krokstadelva and back over Christmas break. So how did they get to the point of being popular? It was an ironic response to corporate life, with coloring pictures of normal work tasks with the captions "color my pants grey, or I'll get fired" and from there it took off. Later on they found out that it had therapeutic implications as well.
They are also talking about Amazon.com that is solemly based on selling EVERYTHING online, is suddenly going analog by setting up over 100 bookstores
So here is what I believe is the reason for why print is trendy again. Everything in our society is becoming more and more technological, and we spend more and more time in front of a screen, and maybe people are tired of that. At least for me, I get a headache reading books on a screen and id rather have the feels and smell of a REAL book in my hands. I can read for 20-40 minutes at the time online, while getting lost in a paper book for several hours.
Amen sister! if I could turn back the clocks and recover the hours and hours lost sorting through hundreds of CD's and thousands of songs to compile the perfect music library only to have it gone in a second because of a computer crash or an iPhone glitch or upgrade. I have learn my lesson and will only buy hard copies of books, CD's and DVD's. I would a thousand times rather read a hard copy of a book that I can highlight, write notes on the margins then a digital copy! Relying solely on digital data has many problems (See my post on the digital dark ages) No thanks-for me its hard copies only! I am glad print and paper is back! For me in my house its CD's or preferably vinyl, paper books and filing cabinets!
SvarSlettI think that in time things go round and round. What was once old will eventually turn vintage and people go crazy for vintage now a days. Not to say that print is vintage, I don't think it has gotten to that point, yet. But you see it with fashion or a camera and even watches. A Polaroid picture is so hip right now it is crazy. When we all depended on phones to tell us the time Apple made a watch hip again. I think that society is always trying to create trends, but that's not to bash on physical paper. I like being able to physically have in my hands page per page and be able to write down on in my hand writing. But I've noticed that we like to push aside the old then bring it back in. That could be another reason why interest in having books back is peaking. I love it, sometimes yeah we need to step outside and get on our coloring book and relax. I know that sometimes when you are in-front of laptop all day it is nice to pick up a book and let your imagination create the images. Great post!
SvarSlettI think you make some good points here. I like hard-copy books myself, and there is something to be said about the classic feel to it. It creates a different atmosphere than when you're staring at a screen. However, it's tough to argue the convenience that e-books have created, not to mention the cheap pricing. I read maybe 3 books a year so it makes more sense to me to spend $10-$20 on a hard copy book versus getting a Kindle and a bunch of online books. But for someone who reads a book a week, a Kindle would probably be the more cost efficient and convenient way to read. Needless to say, I look forward to visiting an Amazon bookstore in the near future.
SvarSlett