1. Utilitarian readers are abandoning mass‑market paperbacks for e‑readers/digital formats
- “I’d love to read more books on paper but purely from a utilitarian standpoint, the UK’s race to enormous books … makes it unworkable. Some of the latest books are more like pulpit bibles than something I can toss in a bag for the commute.” – marbletiles
- “Someone like you who cares about practicality of ‘tossing in a bag for a commute’ is better served by an e‑reader.” – Grombobulous
2. Physical books persist as a premium/collectible niche (hardcovers, special editions)
- “The 4K UHD buyer fits a niche of someone who isn’t satisfied by streaming. They want a keepsake physical piece of media with beautiful box art and the highest quality picture and sound available.” – Grombobulous (analogy to hardcover book buyers)
- “Hardcovers look nicer but are a PITA to read from … I almost exclusively buy paperback when I opt for dead‑tree books simply because the actual reading experience is nicer.” – Insanity
- “I’m in the opposite boat … when I encountered hardcover, I just couldn’t fathom why someone would pay so much more for something so obviously inferior.” – BeetleB
3. Broader cultural shift away from reading toward screens, audiobooks, and other entertainment
- “The % of people who have read a book in the past year is abysmal and continues to decline.” – skeeter2020
- “If you did a PCA on the reasons reading has gone down, this would get a very low score. … The culture has shifted. Screens are a likely problem. Books … were handy because they could be used in times of boredom. Now there are many more alternatives to fill those spaces.” – BeetleB
- “I see audiobooks as crazy expensive and I don’t like how they are locked down.” – PaulHoule (highlighting alternative formats competing for attention)