Books have played a major role in the history of every human civilization that ever existed. Just imagine if there were no books written what would be the state of human beings today. Books are the means of storing and passing on the knowledge to future generations. The evolution of books is one of the most fascinating ones. The earliest accounts of written text that are movable dates back to 3500 BC. The Sumerians of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization used carve alphabets on clay tablets. After that, the Egyptians started using papyrus scrolls that date back to 2400 BC. The process of printing has evolved for over two millennia and the first book was printed in 1445.

Since then books have gone through several changes to enhance the reader’s experience. Many people started writing books and even more people were reading them. Fast forward to the 21st century all the people of this era have known the books the same way. There weren’t any significant changes made to how books were printed, distributed, or bought. But like any industry book industry had its low phase. The percentage of sales growth was 1.6% percent every year. This was a very concerning situation for the book industry. The industry has witnessed a descent from 2001 to 2008. It needed something to boost sales. But little anyone thought that Amazon’s Kindle would do it for them. Kindle devices have gone through massive changes since its initial release. The devices also changed the way people read books forever.

How did kindle revolutionize book reading?

The first-ever Kindle was released in 2007. It was a device designed by Amazon whose sole purpose was to make people read e-books. This device enabled people to search, buy, download, and read e-books. Not many people thought that it would make a significant impact on book sales. People also thought that no one would buy a device that was designed only for reading books. But despite all the speculations Amazon has sold out its first batch of inventory in less than six hours. This was a sign that showed that people are ready for a change. Even though the hardware and design received some criticism the overall product was well received.

The release of Kindle DX in 2009 made some changes to its design and the most notable one was the increase in screen size. Even this device was well received by the consumers. This made it clear that Amazon was successful in making a transition from print to a digital platform where people can buy and read thousands of books. Amazon knew that if it had to cement the place of Kindle devices in the market it must sell e-books for a lesser price. Otherwise not many people would buy them. So initially Amazon decided to bear some losses and sell e-books for just $9.99 after buying them for $13 each. 

Many people thought that it would be disastrous for the book industry if people start buying books for just $10. But things started changing when more and more people started buying e-books. During the initial days of Kindle, there were only 90,000 e-books in its catalog but currently, it has nearly 6 million titles. Amazon started selling twice the e-books compared to hand covers. Due to the rise of technology, many people started seeing the benefits of having a device for reading books. 

According to a number of surveys, people have stated that they are more likely to read a book if it was an e-book. Back in 2009, only 2% of adults in the US owned an e-book reader but today nearly 52% of its adult population has an e-book reader. Since Kindle is the best e-book reader out there you can get an idea of how many people would be using it. Amazon has 67% of book sales in the market and the best part is it holds 80% of total e-book sales in the US.

Many people assumed that no one would buy a Kindle device as it is only designed for reading books and other devices can do much more than that. But that is what made the Kindle devices very successful among book readers. People who use Kindle have stated that the reason they love their Kindle is that it does not have any extra features and it solely focuses on providing a great book reading experience. Leaving all those factors aside owning a Kindle has so many benefits. If you own a Kindle you can read your favorite books anywhere, anytime irrespective of the lighting. You will have access to thousands of books and books are also quite cheap on Kindle compared to paperback. Above all, it is a portable device that is very convenient to use and saves you a lot of space that would otherwise be occupied by paperbacks.

Now that you have understood the significance and benefits of owning a Kindle here are some suggestions of book genres that could help if you don’t know what to read.

Sci-fi

Many people brush off sci-fi as a genre that is not related to the current situation of the world. But it is actually the opposite.  The sci-fi genre takes a different approach in showcasing human struggles and emotions even if the reality of the universe is different from ours. According to Coolthingschicago.com sci-fi is great in illustrating the mindset of the generation the book is written in. Sci-fi books are very creative and innovative in their ideas and storytelling. Sci-fi also tries to show the disastrous effects of technology if it is not used properly. Some of the current technologies were the ideas of sci-fi authors that were turned into reality.

Autobiography

What is more inspiring than reading an autobiography of your idols? Literally nothing. Autobiographies are life stories of a living or dead person who had a significant impact on society or the field they worked in. These are the stories of people who came from nothing and achieved the impossible. A good autobiography is a peek into the life of an extraordinary human being and his efforts to succeed. Reading an autobiography of great souls gives you some inspiration to change something about yourself.

Action and Adventure.

This is the best genre if you want to read something that is really fun. Action and Adventure is a genre that usually narrates the story of a protagonist who is an ordinary person. The stories give the account of extraordinary incidents that happen in the protagonist’s life. These books will keep on the edge of your seat all the way as you don’t know what would happen next.

Conclusion

Times have changed and people don’t want to do things the old way. Technology has been changing the way people do things and the same applies to book reading. Kindle has changed the way people read books and it is here to stay. It is a lightweight device that you can carry anywhere. You can choose any book from its library that has millions of e-books. It is better to carry a Kindle than carrying a bunch of books. A Kindle is a great present for someone who loves books. Buy a Kindle today if you want to have a device that is only for reading books and you won’t be disappointed.