E-books overtake US paperbacks

E-books are the biggest-selling category of the US publishing industry for the first time.

Sales of e-books in February tripled over the previous year to $90.3 million, the Association of American Publishers reported, exceeding adult paperback sales of $81.2 million. A 169 percent surge in e-book revenues since the start of the year contrasted with a 24.8 per cent decline in print book sales to $442 million over the two-month period. February figures showed steeper declines in some print categories, with adult hardcover sales falling 43 percent to $46.2 million and mass-market paperbacks down 41.5 percent at $29.3 million. Publishers hesitated to extrapolate firm trends from the early months of the year, but said print sales had been depressed by harsh winter weather in many states, weak consumer spending and the bankruptcy of Borders, the nation’s second-largest chain of bookstores by sales.