Readers shut their Kindles and return to ‘real books’

BRITONS are abandoning ebooks and Kindles as ‘screen fatigue’ helps fuel a surge in sales of printed books.

‘Demand for physical books is back,’ said Stephen Clarke, chief executive of WH Smith, which saw book sales plummet seven years ago with the arrival of Amazon’s Kindle and his own chain’s Kobo device.

‘The physical books market is in much better health than the ebooks market and we see that continuing,’ he said.

Figures show book sales across Britain growing by ‘one or two per cent’, he said, while ebooks have seen a ten per cent drop. ‘When ebooks first arrived our travel locations were hit hardest,’ said Mr Clarke. ‘People that did a lot of travelling tend to be bigger readers, and there was a big benefit from e-reading because it meant they didn’t have to carry a lot of books with them.

‘Now, when their Kindle breaks, they’re deciding, “I’m not going to replace it.” ’

Waterstones boss James Daunt said predictions that books would follow music into the digital world are proving wide of the mark. He said: ‘Books are better as a physical object. You have them on your shelves, they decorate your house… you can lend them.’ Waterstones boss’s tax plea: Page 97