After sizzling growth, e-book sales cool

Theres pros and cons for both but personally I prefer paper books.

Ive tried reading e-books / e-manga but it gives me a headache, have to worry about battery and if I don't read fast enough the light of the display dims if I dont slide to the next page quick enough.

My ebook reader's battery easily lasts a few weeks of continuous use so no worries. I don't use a lighted reader so no back light inducing headaches. The books are great, they are much cheaper than a real book and I don't have to fight with my wife for storage space. All wins in my book...

"in my book"

Ha! Deliberate?

I am an avid reader and I travel a bit so, much easier to carry a kindle with several books loaded. Now if they could only have it issue the scent of fresh paper and ink! ;)

I just use my tablet which also being used for other purposes.

Are they using "e-book" to mean the literature or the devices used to read them?

Because if they mean the hardware, it only makes sense that sales are falling. Unlike nearly every piece of computer hardware I've dealt with, my Kindle Touch doesn't seem to be built with planned obsolescence in mind. It's almost 4 years old and runs just as well as when I bought it. Hardly ever needs charging, only problem is a little scuff on the plastic case and a bit of a snag on the rubber cover. There have been new models since then, but no "killer app" that makes what I've got obsolete. And that's good. Even if it means Amazon's profits aren't as high, products that last a long time are far more sustainable. And when this Kindle does finally break down, Amazon has built enough brand loyalty with me they'd practically have to kick my mother to get me to switch away.

If they're using "e-book" to mean the software, well, then I got nothin'.

@lucabrasi

Yep!

I travel with an 8in tablet. Can't imagine going back to books. A single-use device like a book just doesn't fit my travel needs anymore. Also, there are many free sources of ebooks (fiction, non-fiction, and reference) these days - so I'm buying fewer ebooks AND fewer paper books. Obviously, reading the latest NYT best seller is NOT high priority. There are lots of great ebook sources on the internet - including my local library which has an Android app to let me check out books.

I love the control over font sizes the tablet reading programs provide, so no reading glasses are needed. Can't do that with a paper book. Plus my Calibre server http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/39501/how-to-access-your-ebook-collection-anywhere-in-the-world/ has more ebooks than I can read this year on it already and automatically pulls local news into an ebook so keeping up with local events when on extended travel isn't hard.

Maybe the drop in sales has something to do with publishers forcing up the prices of e-books over the last year?