In general, no, because books do not sell in quite the same way they once did, but the picture is more complicated than a simple decline.

A century ago, books competed with far fewer forms of entertainment. There was no television, internet, streaming video, social media, podcasts, or video gaming.

Reading was one of the main ways people entertained themselves and learned about the world.

Today: The average person’s attention is divided among many more media. Fewer books become mass cultural events than in the past.

Many readers consume audiobooks and e-books instead of printed books. Self-publishing has created millions more titles, so sales are spread across a much larger number of books.

On the other hand:

The global book market remains enormous.

Popular authors such as J. K. Rowling, Stephen King, Colleen Hoover, and Brandon Sanderson can still sell millions of copies.

Audiobooks

Audiobooks have created new readers and new revenue streams. The total number of books published each year is far higher than it was in previous generations.

What has changed most is not that people have stopped reading altogether, but that attention has fragmented.

In the nineteenth century, a successful novel might become known to a large share of the reading public.

AWARD-WINNING WRITER’S GREAT READS. Romance, Travel, and Maritime. Novels, Business Success, Crime, Conflict and Culture. Click the picture to access.

Jack London

Today, there are many more books competing for people’s time, so even excellent books often reach smaller audiences.

It’s an interesting contrast with someone like Jack London. In his era, a popular novelist could become a household name across much of the English-speaking world because books faced far less competition from other media.

THANKS FOR SHARING WITH FRIENDS AND SOCIAL MEDIA