Business 133(Wed, Thu, Sun)- Booksellers hope soaring sales will continue as we read more

  • 投稿カテゴリー:Business

A woman reading a book

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  2. What are your responses in your role / position?
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Article
1. Not exactly one hundred years of solitude, to use the title of a well-known novel, but the long coronavirus lockdowns gave many of us a lot more time to read. As a result, sales of physical books rose strongly: some 202 million paperbacks and hardbacks were sold in the UK in 2020, according to industry figures.

2. That was the first time these sales had passed the 200 million mark since 2012. It was a similar picture in the US, where sales hit 751 million last year, the highest figure since 2009. With the UK’s Bookshop Day being held on Saturday, 9 October, to encourage readers to shop in their local bookshop, the industry hopes this trend will continue now that people have got into the habit of reading more.

3. Alison Holmes, who helps run a book club in York, believes that the lockdown, and the extra downtime it offered people, was liberating for some avid readers. “I know people… who have been able to sit down and read without feeling guilty about all the other things they should be doing,” she says.

Do you enjoy reading books, are you reading one currently / what was the last book you read? What kind of books do you enjoy? Please discuss.

4. Ms Holmes’ book club has a fun and healthy twist. The York Bike Belles’ Walking Book Club meet once a month to walk the streets of the city, talking about a certain novel. During the lockdowns the club went online, but they are now outside strolling again, every four weeks.
5. While physical book shops had to close their doors during the lockdowns, many found a way round that problem. Barbara White is the buyer and children’s book manager at Wimbledon Books, an independent store in south west London. “Obviously we had to close, but we did click-and-collect, which, in the run-up to last Christmas, was manically busy,” she says.
6. “People were rediscovering books and wanting to be supportive.” After the 2020 Christmas period, sales did begin to falter, but Ms White says a knight in shining armour arrived – a website called Bookshop.org. An online retailer of new books that first started in the US in January 2020, it shares its profits with independent physical bookstores.

Do you think its better to encourage children to read books digitally or printed? Explain your reasoning.

7. Customers order from Bookshop.org, and the books are sent out from a wholesaler. Independent shops registered with Bookshop.org are not involved in this process – they do not store, or post, the books in question – however they still get to share 10% of the website’s revenues (approximately a third of its profits) every six months.
8. In addition, independent stores get all the profits from the sale of books on Bookshop.org from orders that originate via links from their own websites, social media posts, or email newsletters. “Our mission is to help independent book shops get a bigger share of online sales,” says Nicole Vanderbilt, managing director of Bookshop.org’s UK arm.

What do you think the future holds for books? Will there still be a market for physical media?

What hobbies have you picked up, dropped during the pandemic? What has changed the most regarding your interests outside of work?

Phonetic Chart

Phonemic Chart - click to see or print full size