Alaska consumes the most e-books, per capita

L.J. Sellers · 03-30-2011, 09:05 AM

This information, from Shelf-Awareness, caught my eye.

"Coker used the 20,000 e-books Smashwords distributes to Barnes & Noble, whose reports break down sales by state. Looking at the numbers for December through February, he then employed population data from the recent U.S. census to determine "the final, coolest numbers of them all, a normalized measure of per capita e-book consumption for each state."

His top five states for per capita e-book consumption:
Alaska
North Dakota
Utah
Wyoming
Virginia

http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue...ue=1426#m11834

It would be interesting to see the e-book consumption data compared to bookstore availability as well.
L.J.

queentess · 03-30-2011, 09:10 AM

It's just one MR member up in Alaska, reading 1,000+ books per year

wvcherrybomb · 03-30-2011, 09:16 AM

It sure beats Alaska's other past times: Alcohol and suicide...

tubemonkey · 03-30-2011, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.J. Sellers

It would be interesting to see the e-book consumption data compared to bookstore availability as well.
L.J.

Do you suspect lack of bookstores in those sparsely populated states (top four)?

jersysman · 03-30-2011, 09:55 AM

Let's see... 4 of the five states get rather cold during the winter, which means greater time in the house with a good book trying to stay warm. I can see why those locations would be high up on the list. Is Hawaii at the bottom?

queentess · 03-30-2011, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jersysman

Let's see... 4 of the five states get rather cold during the winter, which means greater time in the house with a good book trying to stay warm. I can see why those locations would be high up on the list. Is Hawaii at the bottom?

The first 4 also have sparse populations compared to other states, which means bookstores will be more spread out.

tubemonkey · 03-30-2011, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by queentess

It's just one MR member up in Alaska, reading 1,000+ books per year

It was either that or watching Russia from his front porch.

khalleron · 03-30-2011, 12:27 PM

I think Alaska consumes more of just about everything, per capita.

ardeegee · 03-30-2011, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by queentess

It's just one MR member up in Alaska, reading 1,000+ books per year

"What ebooks do you read?"

"All of 'em."

Andrew H. · 03-30-2011, 02:47 PM

Those are interesting results, although I'm not sure that using books on Smashwords is a good proxy for the e-book market.

Hamlet53 · 03-30-2011, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

Those are interesting results, although I'm not sure that using books on Smashwords is a good proxy for the e-book market.

That was my first thought as well, not a very representative sampling of the overall population. Probably not even representative of e-book readers.

Aside from that there are so many factors that could be at play. Distance to bookstores. Same for ease of access to public libraries. Internet and technology use levels. Looking at state statistics probably does not say that much either. The difference between Madison, Wisconsin and Park Falls, Wisconsin are probably greater than the difference between Madison and San Francisco.

GA Russell · 03-30-2011, 03:04 PM

Are Amazon's shipping rates of books higher to Alaska than to the lower forty-eight? If so, then Alaskans might enjoy a greater discount with eBooks.

kennyc · 03-30-2011, 04:05 PM

Funny..... but if it's per-capita then kinda makes sense as the per-capita in Alaska is pretty low.

SolRaven · 03-30-2011, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GA Russell

Are Amazon's shipping rates of books higher to Alaska than to the lower forty-eight? If so, then Alaskans might enjoy a greater discount with eBooks.

I would assume so. Most shipping rates are based on the contiguous 48

kindlekitten · 03-30-2011, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SolRaven

I would assume so. Most shipping rates are based on the contiguous 48

nope. US Mail is the same regardless if it is next door, Alaska, Hawaii, or one of our APO or FPO mail services in bumf*ck back of beyond

03-30-2011, 09:05 AM	#1
L.J. Sellers Novelist Posts: 287 Karma: 387979 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Eugene, Oregon Device: Kindle	Alaska consumes the most e-books, per capita This information, from Shelf-Awareness, caught my eye. "Coker used the 20,000 e-books Smashwords distributes to Barnes & Noble, whose reports break down sales by state. Looking at the numbers for December through February, he then employed population data from the recent U.S. census to determine "the final, coolest numbers of them all, a normalized measure of per capita e-book consumption for each state." His top five states for per capita e-book consumption: Alaska North Dakota Utah Wyoming Virginia http://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue...ue=1426#m11834 It would be interesting to see the e-book consumption data compared to bookstore availability as well. L.J.

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03-30-2011, 09:10 AM	#2
queentess Reading is sexy Posts: 1,303 Karma: 544517 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: none	It's just one MR member up in Alaska, reading 1,000+ books per year

03-30-2011, 09:16 AM	#3
wvcherrybomb Sharp Shootin' Grandma Posts: 847 Karma: 1123940 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Sunny Florida Device: Kindle 3, Kindle Fire, Literati (has been adopted by my daughter)	It sure beats Alaska's other past times: Alcohol and suicide...

03-30-2011, 09:55 AM	#5
jersysman Wizard Posts: 1,747 Karma: 3761220 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Device: T1 Red, Kindle Fire, Kindle PW, PW2, Nook HD+, Kobo Mini, Aura HD	Let's see... 4 of the five states get rather cold during the winter, which means greater time in the house with a good book trying to stay warm. I can see why those locations would be high up on the list. Is Hawaii at the bottom?

03-30-2011, 12:27 PM	#8
khalleron Kate Posts: 1,700 Karma: 3605799 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oregon, United States Device: MeeBook, Kobo Libra Colour	I think Alaska consumes more of just about everything, per capita.

03-30-2011, 02:47 PM	#10
Andrew H. Grand Master of Flowers Posts: 2,201 Karma: 8389072 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Naptown Device: Kindle PW, Kindle 3 (aka Keyboard), iPhone, iPad 3 (not for reading)	Those are interesting results, although I'm not sure that using books on Smashwords is a good proxy for the e-book market.

03-30-2011, 03:04 PM	#12
GA Russell Ford to the rescue? Posts: 7,608 Karma: 31484197 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	Are Amazon's shipping rates of books higher to Alaska than to the lower forty-eight? If so, then Alaskans might enjoy a greater discount with eBooks.

03-30-2011, 04:05 PM	#13
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Funny..... but if it's per-capita then kinda makes sense as the per-capita in Alaska is pretty low.

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