There’s a very interesting article in the New York Times this morning (not linking it because it’s behind a paywall). Some takeaways:
707 million books in print were bought this year - about 75% of book sales, meaning ebooks haven’t killed bound books (at least not yet). That’s “only three million less than the pandemic peak in 2021, and 57 million copies more than in 2019.”
Nonfiction and YA aren’t doing well, but “romantasy” is booming.
The only NF book that came out this year to hit the top 10 was Kamala Harris’s memoir, the rest are older titles. The article suggests this is due in part to the availability of free online sources for information you’d normally find in a NF book, such as chatbots, YouTube, and podcasts.
If you exclude Suzanne Collins’ latest Hunger Games book, YA sales are down 12% this year. They really didn’t give a reason for that.
“AI disrupted online search results and flooded Amazon with poorly written copycat books and slapdash genre fiction, making it harder for books written by humans to stand out from the slop.” (Yet another reason to support BookBrowse - thank you to all who do!)
Bible sales are also spiking - up about 12% over last year. And comic book/graphic novels are way up - 27%.
Audiobook and ebook sales are steady.
Physical bookstores seem to be making a comeback as well. B&N added 55 stores in 2025, and “422 newly opened stores joined the American Booksellers Association” last year.
Thanks for sharing the take aways from the NYT article. I am a little surprised YA sales are down so much because I know a number of people who read YA books. On the other hand, I wonder if this ties in with recent news reports highlighting how few high school teens are reading a book in its entirety.
Does The NYT select their top 10 based on overall sales for all book categories and do they weight books on the list? Kamala Harri’s book came out several months before 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History–and How It Shattered a Nation and it’s been on the best seller list. I haven’t read her book (yet), but will most likely read 1929 first, as the reviews highlight how well each person’s character and role are delved into during the crash.
@Jill_Mercier - Here’s what Google’s AI says about it:
Key Factors for the NYT List:
Sales Data (But Not Just Raw Numbers): They collect data from thousands of sellers, but they focus on sales from specific types of stores (major chains, independents, online).
Distribution Matters: They want books sold across diverse retailers and regions, not just one giant retailer, to show broad appeal.
Editorial Discretion: The NYT’s team has a subjective, proprietary algorithm and guidelines, making it an editorial decision, not purely a mathematical one.
Verification: They cross-check sales to prevent manipulation, though bulk orders (sometimes flagged with a dagger) are a known tactic.
Category Specific: There are multiple lists (Fiction, Nonfiction, YA, etc.), not one single “top 10” across all categories.
Just a thought…Given the data is based on sales and not unit volume, I’m not surprised to see the higher percentage of physical books versus ebooks, that is, that ebooks are not a more sizeable portion. The price of physical books, especially hardbacks, is significantly higher than ebooks.
Oooh, that’s a really good point, @Gabi_J. I hadn’t thought of that. But I bet you’re right! I’m surprised I haven’t seen any articles about that correlation.
Regarding the physical books vs. ebooks, I agree. It’ll be interesting to see what 2026 brings, given the tightening economy. I know I’m thinking twice about my book purchases these days. I’ve put on my to-do list to see how my library’s ebook downloads work. Between the 1000 Books thing and my resolution to read more classics this year, I feel like it makes sense to try to pick up some of these titles from the library. Gotta be ebooks, though; I’ve got arthritis in my hands, which makes it hard to hold a book for a long period of time (especially a hardback!).
I’ve never used my library’s ebook program, although I’m sure they’ve got one. I’ve always just preferred to buy my own, so they’re there when I want them. Looking for ways to trim costs, though, since my healthcare insurance took such a big bump.
My granddaughters, 11 and 15, once avid readers are no longer reading. One follows YouTube to learn how to make things . The older one spends all of her time on her phone. Both are serious musicians, so there’s that. But not reading ! Breaks my heart. For now. I think the decline in YA can be attributed to the addictive nature of the ubiquitous Cell Phone