From influencers to book shop owners, modern reading habits are constantly changing.
Is the Kindle replacing the paperback? Emma O’Connell, who creates book-related content on TikTok, doesn’t entirely agree.
Her statements are seconded by the managing director of O’Mahony’s bookstore, Frank O’Mahony. Mr. O’Mahony reveals that “Ryanair’s travel policy affected us more at the time than Kindle.”
“We used to have a big trade during the summer, with people going off on holidays buying five or six books.”
However, when the airline altered its carry-on policy, “travelling with books went out the window,” he added.
The bookstore owner described how customers began buying one book and then bringing a Kindle instead.
Mr. O’Mahony’s believes that whilst people had adapted their reading habits, they were still looking to buy physical books.
In a report by Publishing Ireland from 2021, it is revealed that “more money was spent on books in Ireland in 2021 than ever before.”
The report shows that €165.9 million was spent on books in Ireland in 2021, a staggering €4.4 million more than 2020.
The bookseller, who speaks to us from his office in O’Mahony’s flagship store on Limerick’s O’Connell Street, remarks how the fall in book sales that happened in the 2000s was “more down to the economic recession rather than the rise of the Kindle.”
When asked about Amazon, he replies, “We live with Amazon, I’ve lived with them for years.”
The managing director warns, “the biggest problem in long-term bookselling is that kids don’t read so much anymore.”
It doesn’t feel right to speak about the reading habits of today’s youth without mentioning BookTok. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, BookTok is a lively nook of TikTok that boasts a minefield of book recommendations and reviews.
This social media phenomenon seems to be a catalyst in reigniting a generation’s interest in reading.
‘Booktokker’ Emma O’Connell says “with social media, people are so likely to buy into trends, if enough people get behind it.”
Mr. O’Mahony recognises that TikTok “has got younger people coming back in and seeing what is available,” and in particular genres like science fiction and fantasy.
“They often progress onto different types of literature after they tire of what is being recommended on TikTok, and in time, develop their own preferences,” Mr. O’Mahony says.
Ms. O’Connell describes how romance, and the genre-blending romantasy, typically do well on the platform. With the popularity of titles like Sarah J. Maas’s “A Court of Thorns and Roses” and the hit thriller “The Housemaid’’ often being front and centre in bookstores at the minute.
Mr. O’Mahony is quick to point out the significance of the brick-and-mortar bookstore. He emphasises how they can tailor and foster an experience with reading in a way that social media could never do.
“Usually in a bookshop you would have a reasonable number of long-term staff who know, read and love books,” he explains.
Speaking of his own bookshop, the bookseller shares how they have a loyal customer base “who just come in and buy what the staff recommend… we know what they like.”
Ms. O’Connell also appreciates the traditional bookstore, saying, “there is a certain magic in going to a bookshop; you might not get what you are looking for, but you might get something better.”
Although Kindle Unlimited allows readers to pay a monthly subscription to borrow from a large catalogue of books, many readers, herself included, admit feeling a certain desire to own the physical copy as well. She dubs this phenomenon ‘trophy books.’
Trophy books are somewhat of a double-edged sword. Ms. O’Connell recognises a level of over consumption, with readers feeling the need to have both a digital and physical copy.
However, she concludes: “I can never complain about over consumption because nine times out of ten, you are always supporting a local bookstore.”
Whilst the Kindle has certainly changed the way we read books, it is clear from both Mr. O’Mahony’s and Ms. O’Connell’s experience in the world of books that neither Amazon nor the Kindle can replace the experience of browsing through a bookshop.