Are Books Still Popular?

 

 

I am here to report that I witnessed a flood of people at the three-floor Barnes and Noble, just a few avenues away from Times Square, which just the day before had over a million people packing the streets to ring in the new year. The bookstore was flooded with people, mostly tourists, filled to a capacity I have never seen when there is no event going on.

Why do I mention this? It is purely anecdotal evidence that bookstores are vibrant and that the printed book still rules, but on January 2 it is clear to me that even in our digitized world of AI, social media, and a downloadable society, good old books can still thrive.

Although bookstore revenue is down by more than half from the peak 2007 year, sales are steady, and overall, book sales are much stronger when you add in the online purchases of printed books, and online-only product sales of audiobooks and e-books. People still consume books, in a variety of formats, and it is the printed book that is still king.

 

Over 700 million printed books were sold in 2025 – around the same pace as last year. Romance books are still hot, increasing in sales by 5% to remain the top genre. Sales of Bibles are up, too. E-books only remain at around 11 pent of trade book revenue, down from its 2016 peak of being 17 percent of the revenue. Several authors have sold millions of copies of their books this past year, including thriller author Freida McFadden and romantasy author Rebecca Yarro.

 

True, when you factor in population growth and inflation — as well as the increasing availability of free or dirt-cheap e-books, it is hard to say if per-capita book buying is growing. But a whole lot of reading is going on.

 

One indication the book is back is the fact that so many bookstores are opening up. In 2025, 420 newly opened stores joined the American Booksellers Association – over a hundred more than the prior year. Barnes and Noble opened up 55 stores - -almost twice as many as the year before, and Books-A-million opened 18 stores this year –more than the seven of 2024.

There is still hope for America!

 

Do You Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator! 

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 5,400,000 page views. With 5,500+ posts over the past 14 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs  by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2026.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum