In Poland we publish 9000 new books each year, of course initial runs are like 500-1k copies. Not sure how it breaks down in detail on types like science publications and else but average person reads 1 book a year, avid readers read 7 and above but they are 1% of the population.

Just some stats as I watched discussion on this topic. I think the question was rhetorical but feels like a nice thing to add.

Yes, that's exactly the sort of thing I was reaching for.

Curious what the distribution is for types of books.

In the U.S., bookstores lose money almost the entire year --- only making money for the Christmas holidays.

I believe another factor is frequency of moving, because that’d disincline people from buying significant amounts of any kind of heavy and/or bulky media, of which books are both. More than a small bookshelf’s worth is a real pain to haul around.

This. I donated half a lifetime's collection of physical books a few years ago, when I moved into my girlfriend's apartment. I kept books which are either a) impossible to get electronically (mostly technical or academic works), or b) worthless on screen (mostly large-format photography and art books, or c) for which I have a sentimental attachment to the physical artifact (a couple of first editions; some gifts; some that bring back particular memories).

It's so freeing! I read a LOT, and being able to curate a massive library in Calibre, and keep >3k books on my Kindle, is (for me) entirely superior to lugging around heavy physical objects.

I rip DRM off of (most) every ebook I buy, and back up the files, so I'm not worried about losing access, either. Even if the apocalypse arrives my Kindle + a solar charger fit in my bug-out bag better than a box of books.

I've done the DRM ripping in the past, but from what I've understood Calibre or other tools are unable to do that for the latest DRM variants Amazon is using. Is that correct? I would like to back up my entire Kindle collection as it is now.

As I understand it the problems are with Kindle Unlimited files, and it's more complicated if you don't actually own a Kindle (like, you have to use the Kindle app, but only some app versions work?). I don't have KU, and I import the files directly into Calibre from my Kindle and it all Just Works. Or it did last time I ripped a batch a month or two ago. Maybe something's changed in the meantime and I'm due for some frustration the next time I try. I dunno.

Thanks. I'll try that. I have a Kindle, but in the past I downloaded the books to the PC when I wanted a backup, and used Calibre on that. I did this because the docu said that it could only un-DRM books in "PC" format, the Kindle used something different. This is from a few years ago.

> How much new information is there published in book form each year which the average person needs to (or wants to) read?

> How much leisure time does the average person choose to dedicate each year to reading? How do they decide which book(s) will be selected for this?

I mean, the thing is, people aren't reading books, they're reading instagram. We haven't substituted one knowledge-accumulating method for another, we've replaced books with social media. If you want to talk about which one generates or propagates more information-as-knowledge, that's an interesting conversation, but I think the effective mechanism here is someone figured out how to hypercharge the dopamine roller-coaster to a degree that books just can't compete.