This graph depicts the frequency of reading books worldwide in 2017. During the survey, ** percent of respondents stated that they read every day or most days.

In 2017, textbooks generated an estimated revenue of ****** million U.S. dollars, making books in this category the best-selling type of print book in terms of online sales. Meanwhile, the second most lucrative category were printed children’s books, and online sales of print books centered around business amounted to almost *** million U.S. dollars.

The U.S. book market: an overview

Although many traditional industries are struggling to keep up with consumers’ growing demand for digital formats, retail sales of U.S. bookstores tend to reach between *** and *** million dollars per month. In the months of December, January, and August, such sales frequently either hit or surpass the *** billion dollar mark, a trend which has been evident for the last five years.

However, whilst bookstore sales remain comparatively healthy, other elements of the U.S. book industry are suffering. Higher education book publishing revenue has dropped by more than one billion U.S. dollars since 2013, and student spending on course material also noticeably decreased during the same time period. Major chain Barnes & Noble hasn’t had it easy, either – the company’s retail sales have dropped consistently year on year since 2012 and show no signs of improving. Barnes & Noble’s e-reader brand NOOK also proved to be somewhat of a disappointment, with net sales taking a nosedive from over *** million U.S. dollars in 2012 to less than *** million in 2018.

The country reported to have read books most regularly in 2017 was China, where a survey among internet users across ** countries revealed that ** percent of respondents read a book every day or most days, and ** percent read at least once a week. Conversely, just ** percent of South Korean respondents were reading books on a daily basis. Other countries with a low share of those aged 15 years or above reading daily included Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands and Mexico.

Age and reading habits

It is surprising how much age can affect reading habits, even on a global level. In Germany, more 12 to 13-year-olds read daily or several times per week than their slightly older peers. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, a survey showed that more teenagers and Millennials said that they would be happy without books than adults aged 34 or older. More than double the percentage of adults in Colombia aged 65 or above read a book every day than those aged between 12 and 25 years.

The number of books read over the past year in the United States was overall higher among adults aged 18 to 34 than older generations, and in Canada the share of children reading books for fun halved with the approach of teenage years. Whilst ** percent of children aged between six and eight years old were reading for pleasure multiple times per week, among ** to 17-year-olds this figure amounted to just ** percent. Meanwhile, the opposite was true of going online for fun, which increased sharply with age and replaced the activity of reading.

This survey represents the channels where parents purchase books for their children in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2017. ** percent of the parents state that they mainly purchase books online for their children, for example via Amazon or via the publisher's website. ** percent claim to buy most books in a chain bookstore, while ** percent prefer to do it in an independent bookstore. ** percent buy books for their children in a supermarket.

During a survey, it was found that historical books were the most popular genre in Argentina, with over ** percent of respondents stating they read them either regularily or from time to time. Short stories and novels ranked second and third, respectively.

The statistic presents data on the most popular methods for acquiring e-books in the United States in 2017. During the survey, ** percent of respondents stated that they e-books from a friend via IM, e-mail, or flash drive.

The best-selling print book in the United States in 2024 ranked by unit sales was "The Women" by Kristin Hannah, with a over **** million sales. Other successful books which sold well that year included two successful titles by Colleen Hoover, including "It Starts With Us" and "It Ends With Us". The top 10 best-selling print books in 2024 were written mostly by women, with Rebecca Yarros also enjoying over ******* unit sales of both her books "Fourth Wing" and "Iron Flame". Print book sales remain stable In 2023, adult nonfiction sales of print books in the U.S. amounted to over *** million. Whilst this was the lowest recorded since 2017, the category remained the bestselling book category. Adult fiction sales on the other hand rose to over *** million units, continuing the upward trend from previous years. Despite the growing prevalence of digital books, print remains a popular option. Print still accounts for the majority of U.S. book sales revenue According to the most recently available data, the size of the U.S. audiobook market was estimated at *** billion U.S. dollars, and could soon surpass the *** billion dollar mark if annual growth continues at the same rate. Whilst sales of digital books are generally more difficult to track and therefore prone to adjustments, data shows that print still accounts for the majority of U.S. books sales revenue, at roughly ***** times the amount generated by e-books and audiobooks combined. Print book sales in the U.S are overall higher than in the early 2000s, showing not only an ongoing interest in the format but even an uptick in book buying in recent years.

In the first half of 2018, general adult fiction books were the most successful in terms of sales with over **** million units sold in the United States during that time, but certain genres were far more popular than others. Unit sales of classics reached almost *** million, outperforming books in the fantasy category, and almost *** million graphic novels were sold. Among the most popular genres were romance and suspense/thrillers, with unit sales surpassing **** million and *** million respectively.

When it comes to nonfiction, business and economics books sold well in the first six months of 2018, as well as biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. However, **** million religious books and bibles were sold, superseding general nonfiction sales and making religion the best-selling adult nonfiction category in the U.S. during that time period.

The changing book market

Whilst it is true that demand for and spending on traditional media is waning as digital sources take over, books are still a popular source of entertainment, education, and recreation. But, like the newspaper and magazine market, the book industry found itself needing to adapt.

A key example of how the book market has changed is the advent of audiobooks, which allow users to enjoy books on the go in the same way they would listen to a podcast or stream their favorite music. Audiobooks in the fiction category are far more popular than nonfiction audiobooks, suggesting that buyers tend to use audiobooks more for recreation than education and listen to them on the go. Equally, the share of adults in the U.S. who listen to audiobooks in their car rather than at home grew between 2018 and 2019, demonstrating a growing trend towards on the go book consumption.

E-books are another popular, modern way to enjoy reading, though what they offer the consumer is not dissimilar to a print book when it comes to the act of reading itself. E-readers allow users to access any number of books at a given time, and as such e-books have less to do with flexibility in terms of consumption location or habit, but more to do with ease of access (and for avid readers, likely how many book shelves they need).

About ********* of UK consumers at the age of 18+ who read in their free time and bought a book in the last 12 months use e-reading devices on a more or less daily basis while more than *** of the respondents use them to go through the digital version of their favorite books, magazines or any other piece of writing several times per week.

When it comes to reading e-books, most of the UK respondents prefer e-readers over tablets or smartphones . Some of these devices offer a waterproof design which might, combined with their slick layout, make e-readers the perfect companion on the go.

Having said that, not all respondents are accustomed to using an e-reading device: More than ********* of UK readers have never used an e-reading device . The reasons for choosing printed books are numerous but the most common one is that respondents favor the experience of reading through an actual, physical book. In fact, *** of readers in the UK stated that they would feel sad if the book market ran out of print books.

How old are Norwegians who buy books and newspapers online? In 2021, it was found out that the highest share of respondents who purchased news online were of ages between 35 and 44 years, 56 percent of them. The second age group who purchased news on the internet that year, were of ages between 45 and 54 years (49 percent). In contrast, only five percent of the Norwegians, aged between 75 and 79 years bought books and newspapers online that year. The most common device to access news in 2017 in Norway was a mobile phone. Phones were the most common devices for news in Sweden and Denmark, as well, while most Finns preferred to access the news on a PC that year.

Daily reached newspapers        As of 2017, VG was the online newspaper with the highest daily reach in Norway. Next in the ranking were Dagbladet, Aftenposten and Nettavisen. Last in the ranking that year were ABC Nyheter and Hegnar.no.

Which news sources do Norwegians trust?         A study, conducted in 2019, investigated the levels of trust in online news brands among Norwegians who used the particular sources. NRK News ranked first and was closely followed by Dagens Næringsliv. Among the other trust-worthy news brands were Klassekampen and Aftenposten.

This statistic gives information on the ten bestselling books in Spain in 2017. "Patria" by Fernando Aramburu ranked first as the best selling book in Spain that year with a total amount of copies that reached roughly *** thousand units. "Todo esto te daré" by Dolores Redondo ranked second on the list, with figures reaching approximately *** thousand sold copies in Spain in 2017.

The statistic shows the result of a survey on the most common ways to choose a book in Italy in 2017 and 2018. Over the period under consideration, the social (social networks and social community) became a more important factor in the decision. On the other hand, traditional media, such as interviews in television and reviews in newspaper, seemed not to be considered that much anymore.

This statistics shows the primary devices used to make online books purchases from within Russia during the first half of 2017. Most purchases were made using a desktop computer, with ** percent of purchases being made in this way.

The statistic shows the results of a survey about the most popular book genres among adult readers in the Philippines in 2017. During the period examined, ***** percent of the respondents stated to read the bible, followed by ** percent of the respondents who claimed that they read picture and story books for children.

This statistic shows the results of a survey on preferred reading methods among women in Finland in 2017, by age group. In 2017, over ** percent of the respondents in all groups stated that they read only print books. The share amounted to ** percent among women aged 50 to 75. None of the respondents read solely e-books.

According to a survey, the most popular fiction book genres among women in Finland in 2017 were thriller and romance. Female non-fiction readers, on the other hand, were particularly into hobby and health-related topics as well as biographies.

The statistic displays the results of survey question about the most important reasons to borrow books in the Netherlands in 2017. The survey outcomes indicated that the majority of respondents who borrowed books from a library recently did so for their own leisure reading. Close to ** percent of respondents last borrowed a book to read for their own enjoyment, whereas just one percent most recently borrowed a book for work-related purposes.

The statistic presents data on the most popular methods for downloading illegal e-books in the United States in 2017. During the survey, ** percent of respondents stated that they obtained illegal e-books from an online auction or resale site.

This statistic shows the results of a survey in which respondents were asked how often they purchase different categories of goods online in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2017. The category of goods from which respondents most frequently purchase goods online is books with ** percent of respondents frequently doing do, followed by electronics at ** percent.

During a 2017 survey, it was found that books written by Argentine writers made up nearly 50 percent of all books read in Argentina. The most popular book genres were history short stories and novels.

The graph shows the share of the total sales of the global book publishing market in 2017, by country. According to the source, the United States made of 30 percent of the global book publishing market in terms on total sales as of 2017.