Let’s get physical???

Books are back: Printed book sales rise for first time in four years.

Sales of paper books are growing – and the youngsters among us are driving the shift.

Those of us who love physical books can smile wryly, as new figures indicate that the surge in ebook sales has faltered.

Industry bodies began monitoring sales 10 years ago and 2015 and 2016 have seen consecutive falls in ebook sales.

Over 360m books were sold in 2016 – a 2% jump in a year that saw UK consumers spend an extra £100m on books in print and ebook formats, according to findings by Nielsen in its annual books and consumer survey.

Sales through shops increased 7% in 2016, as ebook sales declined by 4%.

The data also revealed good news for high street bookshops, with a 4% rise in purchases across the UK.