Books have always been a big part of people's daily lives but with the increase of technology how has this affected the need for paperback books? 

Growing up I always loved reading picture books and being read to by friends and family. There is always something special about going into a bookshop, looking around the shelves, reading the blurbs of books that interest you and then finding one that meets the expectations of what you are looking for. However, now many of these books can just be read online on a kindle or phone, a factor that many people find more convenient due to the ease of it. For example, bringing a kindle on holiday with four books on it, takes up a lot less space than bringing four paperback books. This then brings up the contradictory question of whether paperback books are really necessary. Both options have pros and cons. 

For most people the reading of a paperback book is very comforting due to being able to turn each page rather than merely clicking on the screen. As well as this, a paperback book allows you to see how far you have read, something which reading online doesn’t allow you to do in the same way. I also think there is something quite magical about going into a bookshop and there being physical copies of thousands of stories written by a range of different authors with each story having something unique about it. There is a social element to going to a bookshop where you can talk to staff about the type of book you are looking for. Many bookshops also have cafes in them adding to the feeling of comfort a bookshop has.  

According to Statista, in 2021 the number of books sold reached up to 212 million in the UK which was the highest record since 2012. In 2011 books sold in the UK was 344 million. This number then decreased massively over the next 10 years and by 2014 the number books sold was 180 million. This is presumably due to the increase of technological devices becoming more and more popular. In March 2020 when the country went into a lockdown, paperback books became much more popular and in a survey, taken in July 2020, of “in home media consumption changes” book consumption ranked among the top ten media formats UK consumers planned to spend more time with in the future.  

Could this be an indication that people are realising the value of books above the convenience of access to literature online? As we emerge from the Pandemic could bookshops become important again and books provide a welcome relief from a screen dominated culture both at home and at work? Time will tell.