COVID-19 has hurt physical book sales and helped audio and digital

You would expect the recent coronavirus crisis to have helped digital entertainment, but with reading it is still led by the traditional hardback and softback formats. However, the pandemic is helping to dethrone physical books, as people are more cautious about going out. While paper books still lead the market, their dominance is shrinking. 

Information in a new infographic sheds a lot of light on the current state of our perusal of tomes. For instance, India is the most well-read country in the world, while the US lags in 22nd place. 

Other stats of interest include the fact that while China publishes the most books, the US does come second here. Visits to Ecommerce book sites rose significantly in March of 2020, likely not coincidental, educational book sales increased more than 200 percent thanks to sudden homeschooling, and not surprisingly, apocalyptic books are a hit. 

You can check out the full stats below. It’s an interesting read, pun intended. After browsing that go grab your copy of Stephen King's The Stand to see what’s coming in 2021 (although we hope not). 

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