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More Americans Choosing Print Books Over E-Books

(Photo by Christina Estes - KJZZ)
Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe.

What we read may vary widely between generations, but the format we choose is strikingly similar. 

Co-owner of Changing Hands Bookstore Gayle Shanks says the interesting thing is increasingly readers like books they can touch.

"Now we’re finding people don’t want to look at their devices for pleasure — that they are looking at devices all day long — that what they want to do is hold a book in their hand.

The latest Pew Research report agrees. It says nearly four in 10 Americans read print books exclusively, and increasingly it is younger readers, and that in the last 12 months, 65 percent of American adults choose print books versus e-books at 28 percent.

Shanks says the biggest increase for print books is among young readers and adults under age 30.
 

Heather van Blokland was a host at KJZZ from 2016 to 2021.