The 2010s were supposed to bring the eBook revolution. It never quite came

According to this article, the problem is oligopolistic markets: only 5 major book publishers exist, and they have no interest in competing.

The article also doesn't examine the consequences: are consumers getting as many books as they want? Is society better off with fewer books available? What about the effects on authors?

Oddly, neither phrase "copyright" or "intellectual property" appear in this article. That's the legal construct that underpins the oligopoly, though.

This article is pretty shallow. It barely scratches the surface of the issue(s).

For me it is a revolution, I read everything on ebook and love it! :)

Doesn't fit my experience at all. My wife and i read ebooks all the time from our local library. Way easier than making time to go during the day and no need to worry about due dates

For me the reason is simple. I read most books only once. So it doesn't really make much sense to buy books. I instead borrow most books from a local library. I know it is possible to borrow eBooks, but they often come with restrictions and DRM software and maybe even books that phone home to report my reading progress. I don't want these at all. Borrowing paper books doesn't have any of these issues. And you can't beat the price of $0.

I once owned a Kindle. I no longer use it.

It's all in what you want as a reader.

For some, it's comparing 'holding a physical book and turning the pages' to the more active, not taking readers.

I don't think the leaders in the ebook industry really understood what the target market was when they took on the endeavor.

For me, ebooks made a lot more sense. Using exclusively the kindle app, I can keep track of my progress across multiple books, score and rate them, make notes (which are preserved and easy to access), and share insightful quotes from my favorite books. If you're a social reader there's really nothing like it.

If you're more of the page turner type, or someone who enjoys the catharsis of reading a book, nothing is going to compare to the feeling of turning a physical page, sipping on some tea in just the right amount of lighting, etc.

I think ebooks set out to capture the first market, and they did it, but people expected it to dominate the book market, which it hasn't and won't.

I tried a Kindle and iPad for reading and I just didn't enjoy what I was reading as much. One of the joys of reading to me is disconnecting - full stop - I don't get that feeling when I pick up a Kindle or iPad to read and subsequently don't enjoy what I'm reading as much. I'm a sucker for the used books on Amazon lol.

Physical books will always reign supreme in my eyes apart from textbooks or technical books where I actually prefer a pdf or ebook that I can easily search for terms, keywords, etc.

Maybe the revolution hasn't come for the publishers, based on ebook sales numbers, but the people I know who regularly use ereaders download most of their ebooks for free.

I have a kindle that I think I've read 5-6 books on since buying it in 2016. It's great for longer trips where bringing multiple books is inconvenient, but otherwise I prefer not having to worry about charging or losing yet another device.

For me the pro/cons of physical vs ebook just about equal out and with ebooks being more expensive that tips me towards physical still.

It came, seemed to be defeated, then seedboxes rescued it. Never bought an e-book or mp3book (read out loud) since. Everything gets scanned or read. Publishers gave themselves head shots based on greed...

The state of PDF rendering on most of these devices has always been the showstopper for me.