With the advent of e-readers and kindles, many worried that the end of printed books was near. Thankfully, it has just been revealed that people are still getting joy out of books, as the sales of printed books have increased for the fifth year in a row!

Researchers with the NDP Bookscan, which records over 80% of American book purchases, found that book sales rose by 1.9% last year, followed by a further increase of 2% during the first half of 2018. This is the fifth straight year of an increase in book sales, with a collective increase of 10.8% more books being sold since 2013.

Experts are saying that this trend of book sales increasing will likely continue in the coming years. They project that in the year 2022, consumers all over the globe will spend roughly $50.3 billion on printed and audiobooks, which is $2.5 billion more than what was spent in 2017.

A lot of research has been done as to why people still enjoy buying printed books. These studies have concluded that one of the reasons why people buy books is readers don’t want excessive screen exposure. Other research has found that people prefer having physical ownership of something they value; something they can see, touch and feel. Also, readers are more likely to remember information from printed sources, rather than reading from a screen.

We have to say that there is nothing quite like holding a physical book while you read it! What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section, and SHARE this story so your friends and family can see this as well!