We live in a time in which there is possibly a certain lack of commitment regarding certain topics: couples, pets and yes, also with books. The eternal debate of "finishing or not" that new title finds in the prolific world of ebooks one of its great drivers, since according to the latest studies ebook consumers barely finish most of the ebooks they purchase through online stores, offers, discounts, exchanges, libraries or free downloads.
Much and good?
In the old days (or maybe not so long ago) paying 10 euros for a physical book was reason enough to swallow it whole even if we didn't like it too much. In the end, you even ended up sympathizing with the story, but you sharpened your radar better when it came to making future titles.
However, since the world of literature changed thanks to electronic books, consumption and reading habits have succumbed to a massive purchase of ebooks thanks to platforms such as Amazon Kindle or Google Books In which the acquisition of dozens of books is not compatible with the fact that buyers read them all (I still prefer paper even though I sell my books in electronic format).
The low prices of ebooks, the number of websites where you can download free books and the massive presence of new writers and their respective stories have led readers of this decade to download and buy out of sheer hobby, confirming an average of more than 10 books downloaded annually by most of these consumers, although 17.9% of them barely read only three of the titles purchased.
The results of a study by the Merca2.0 Research Department confirm that this first result is followed by a 16.3% who only read four books, 14.2% with five complete ebooks and 12.9% who finished two of all e-books purchased in a year.
From the whole list, 5.9% represent the most committed readers with ten complete readings, and even so this data does not include all the complete titles.
The ebook market has promoted consumer habits in which buying a lot does not necessarily mean that all of them are read. Something as democratic as, worrying?
Are you one of those who read all the books to the end even if they don't convince you at all?
Hello Alberto.
I also like the paper book better and I have an e-book reader.
And what has happened to me for a few years now is that I buy physical books, I start reading them and I don't finish them (not because I'm not interested) and I go on to others. That didn't happen to me before.
On the other hand, I am one of those who think that it is absurd (to be said with all due respect) to read a book to the end if you don't like it because literature is an enjoyment, a pleasure, not an obligation. If you go to a restaurant and the food they serve you doesn't appeal to you, you don't eat it until your plate is clean. Well, the same should always be done with the works with which we do not connect. It's okay to start a book and put it down and pick up another (even if it's a classic or a masterpiece). I don't know why some or many people feel compelled to finish it. It is very curious. And I suspect this doesn't happen with a movie or a song or a record.
The fact that so many books are downloaded that they will never be read later does not seem worrisome to me. It is simply one more piece of information that confirms the consumerist maelstrom in which we have been living for many years. There are people who have thousands and thousands of songs on their iPods that they will never listen to. It is the psychological pleasure that comes from knowing that you have all that accumulated there.
A literary greeting. From Oviedo.
Hello Alberto, in my case I usually read the books to the end, but there are times when I have abandoned my reading when the subject bores me, I am not hooked or if the way of writing is very complicated or tangled. These days, there are very few times that I buy physical books without having read them first and knowing that they are good. I read a lot on my kindle and when I find them cheap I buy them.
With so many books downloaded, that I would not read a thousand years if I lived, it is true that one becomes more selective and impatient.
And although some of us were from the generation of "finishing the whole plate" and exaggerating, it does not seem like an intellectual advance to peck from plate to plate and shoot because it is normal to finish what is started.
But I see something worse in myself: that I am reading less; I have to read so much, I read less, what's wrong doctor?