> Overall book sale stats apply to all books from throughout history that are still in publication. A bestseller from 1924 or 1824 might sell only 10 copies in calendar year 2024, but it might have reached 1 million in lifetime sales.

I don't really get this criticism. How are "overall sales" over a period of a century or two relevant to anyone in a business context or assessing the health of the industry?

I suspect nobody has an accurate estimate of how many _used_ books are sold outside the major online resellers. All the small mortar (and online) used bookstores are likely invisible.

This is a very good point, I think. So much of what gets discussed these days (understandably) doesn't take into account the world that's invisible to technology. This is dangerous because it shapes our world view, and our decisions.

It does make you question our over-reliance on the digital format. What happens if/when access is controlled or restricted?

Not throwing shade on you, but I hate the term “digital” to describe DRM’d content.

There are plenty of unencumbered digital formats distributed physically that are unrestrictable. Red Book CDs/CD-ROMs, DVDs/DVD-ROMs, and to a certain extend Blu-ray/BD-ROMs (and lesser extent, but still possible UHD Blu-ray). At conventions indie devs sell digital copies of their games on flash drives.

There’s nothing wrong with digital media (defined literally). While I like physical copies, even file based digital media is mostly OK. The problem is DRM’d media regardless of how it’s distributed.

Store them DRM-free and don’t sweat it.

/Shrug/ I only buy physical books, and I read a lot of books.

Same here, for a couple of years around the time when Kindle launched I was lured by the "have dozens of books at your disposal in a single place" proposal. Bought quite a few e-books at the time, read them but when it got to the point I wanted to share a book with someone I realised I didn't care about having dozens of books in a single device at once, I would normally be reading 2-3 maximum at a time. And I couldn't share an amazing read with someone I was sure would like it as well.

Reverted back to physical books and I don't think I will ever buy e-books again. I just love having them piling up on bookshelves, love when people come visit me and can see some of my interests by peeking into the shelves, and love when someone asks me to borrow one of them.

Helpful response to Griffin's piece.