General information
Questions
- How many books are there in the world?
- How many books are owned by a single person on average.
- What is the average age of a book reader, depending on geographic location?
- What is the average amount of books read by a single person per year?
- How many different categories of books are there?
- What is the leading category of all those books, or a top 10.
- Average number of pages on books within a category.
- What is an e-book?
- When were the first e-books created?
- How many e-books are there now days?
- Most sold books within the world, category etc.
- How is knowledge being shared over time?
- Who are the biggest book publishers at this moment?
- How is the supply chain of books within the book industry, from author to up to reader?
- How do these questions relate to magazines and newspapers, these questions above can also be used for newspapers and magazines?
- What is the percentage of people able to read in the world, based on geographic location?
- How many books are available as audiobook?
Discussion
Published Books
The question about the total number of published book titles worldwide is basically unanswerable. Some books have been published in so small regions, small numbers or many centuries ago that nobody has kept a record of those books. Also definition of “published book” can be interpreted many ways: should historical hand-written texts be treated as published books, and should counting start from the development of script by man thousands of years ago or from 15th century when book-printing was actually invented?
In year 2000, University of California made a research to figure out the number of original book titles worldwide, and they came up with the result of approximately 65 million original book titles. This number is based on estimate that US produces 40% of printed materials in the world and the national library of US (the Library of Congres) contains about 26 million books.
Worldwide increase of book titles has been each year 2-10%, and in US the number of titles has been increased every year, except in 1996, when there was 5% decrease.
Books published per country
UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) monitors standards of living and education in the world, and records the number of books published per country per year. List of top 10 countries
Number of new titles per year, as of the latest year available.
1. United Kingdom (2005) 206,000, (1996) 107,263
2. United States (2005) 172,000, (1996) 68,175
3. People's Republic of China (1994) 100,951
4. Germany (1996) 71,515
5. Japan (1996) 56,221
6. Spain (1996) 46,330
7. Russian Federation (1996) 36,237
8. Italy (1996) 35,236
9. France (1995) 34,766
10.Netherlands (1993) 34,067
Top Ten Best Selling Books of All time
Worldwide bestsellers (numbers are based on worldwide sales figures)
| # | Title | Author | Copies Sold |
| 1 | The Holy Bible | ~6 billion | |
| 2 | Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung | Mao Tse-Tung | 900 million |
Forms of Literature
Literature can be categorized in a number of ways based on different criteria such as content, literary technique or tone. These categories are overlapping, and also the fact which books are actually counted as a literature can be argued (for example are comic books literature?).
Literature can be classified in the following categories
• Prose • Poetry • Drama • Fiction • Nonfiction (history, politics, science) • Science Fiction & Fantasy • Novels • Essays • Autobiography & Memoir • Children’s literature • Educational Literature
Reading Habits
National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) has done a survey of adults’ (16+) reading habits in US. The survey asked how often people read three types of printing materials, newspapers or magazines, books, or letters and notes. It also takes into a consideration readers’ background, such as education, sex, race and household income.
The research found an association between reader’s education level and reading habits. 46% of adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher read books daily, compared to 21% of adults without high school diploma. Survey reports that female are more likely to read books on daily basis, and white adults were more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to have 25 or more books at home.
The outcomes of the survey can be found here:
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2006/section2/table.asp?tableID=470
E-book
An electronic book, called also e-book, eBook or ebook, is an electronic or digital form of traditional printed book. E-books can be downloaded from the Internet or borrowed from a library and read using a handheld device, called e-book device or e-book reader.
Typically an e-book contains content files and style sheets with metadata, digital rights and navigation components. An e-book consists of texts and digital pictures, style sheets define the layout and directives how the book is displayed, and other components to organize the content. Summary about the book (publishers, editions, ISBN, price) is provided by metadata and Digital Rights Management (DRM) files define the owner’s rights.
E-book publishers have reported continuous increases in e-book revenues year by year. In 2005, number of e-book sold was reported to be 1 692 962, bringing total revenues $11,875,783 (around $7 per book). Number of published e-books in year 2005 was 5 242.
Advantages of the e-book
• Layout, interface and size can be adjusted (font size and type can be changed, zooming in and out the document etc.)
• Advanced search functions
• The book can be read in low lighting with a back-lit device
• Low distribution costs
• Fast distribution. A reader can start reading immediately and he or she doesn’t need to go to bookshop.
• Large storage capacities. Thousands of books can be saved and carried on one device and approximately 500 average e-books can be stored on one CD (compare how much shelve space they would need).
• A book can be copied and back ups can be easily taken. No risk on damage on the pages.
• Economically and environmental friendly, e-books reduce paper and ink production
• Errors on the text can be easily corrected by downloading update files.
Disadvantages
• Readers prefer to read a book as an printed version, not on a computer screen
• E-book devices can be damaged, lost or stolen
• Resolution problems on reading device screens
• Batteries run out quickly on handheld devices
• Incompatibility wit new hardware or software
• Stored files need to be handled carefully to avoid loss or damages
• Printing can be restricted
• Readers and their reading habits can be tracked
• Prices of e-books and devices are more expensive than printed editions
• Their average price is considered by many to be too expensive when compared to the print edition.
• Protected e-books cannot be transferred between different people.
• Can be illegally copied or distributed without author’s or publisher’s approval