Sharing a Little Inside Baseball

An intriguing set of survey results fell into my lap this week and I thought I'd share them with you.

The Zogby organization conducted this survey for their client, Random House.

11% of people enjoy reading books digitally.
13% of people under 30 are open to reading books digitally.
6% of people over 65 are open to reading books digitally.
43% of people go into a bookstore looking for a specific book.
77% of people make an additional purchase when looking for a specific book. (Really?)
52% of people are swayed to purchase by cover art.
49% of people are swayed to purchase by reviews.
60% of people are swayed by recommendations from friends or family.
35% of people are swayed to purchase a book because of a cover quote.
86% of people seek out books by authors they like. (That's why we all need to discover new authors!)
49% of people who shop at Indies also shop at chains and online. (Destinations Booksellers is online, too, if that's more convenient for you, and our Patron Passport Rewards apply there, too.)
9% of people usually shop at Indies. (By the way - those 9% who shop at Indies purchase from 16-18% of all books purchased. Thank you.)

Below, you'll find our SOA picks reviews in greater detail. At the radio station's Web site, you can find the list of all of the books recommended on Tuesday's broadcast.

Again, we hope you didn't embarrass you with our appearance on the radio.


The news report is courtesy of Publishers Weekly.