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UK ebook sales flounder as interest in print copies rebounds
Book sales in the UK are on the rise, but not because of ebooks. Figures for 2016 released by the Publishers Association show a 7 percent rise over 2015, the largest year-over-year growth in a decade. Physical book sales were up 8 percent, however ebook sales fell by 3 percent to £538 million. The biggest contributor to the drop? What the industry calls "consumer ebooks" -- novels, autobiographies and the like -- which slipped 17 percent to £204 million. As The Guardian reports, the numbers suggest a shift back towards printed books. We spend much of our time on smartphones, laptops and tablets, so for many reading is an opportunity to disconnect.
Nook lineup sells millions, Barnes & Noble's best-selling product of all-time
You didn't think Barnes & Noble was just going to let Amazon rest on its "vague sales milestones" laurels, did you? The veteran bookseller just announced that the Nook lineup -- 3G, WiFi, and the new Nook Color combined -- has become "the company's biggest bestseller ever in its nearly 40-year history." That's bigger than Barnes & Noble's sales (note: not global sales) of DaVinci Code or any of the Harry Potter novels. Unfortunately, we can't say exactly just how many that is, as the press release only announces "millions" being sold. A B&N rep we spoke with told us they likely wouldn't specify any further, nor would there likely be a breakdown of sales by individual model. Other notable factoids include Nook Color's reign as the company's "number one selling gift of the holiday season" and nearly one million "Nook books" downloaded on Christmas Day. In fact, the company now sells more digital books than it does physical books over BN.com (i.e. not including books sold in brick-and-mortar stores). Wish we had some hard figures, but hey, if any company is going to mince words in a sales announcement, it might as well be a book company, right? Press release after the break.
