If the illegal downloading of movies, music or series is much more widespread, we do not talk enough about that of books. It can have unfortunate consequences for this sector.
How illegal downloading is evolving:
Gen Z has facilitated the normalization of the "free era", with the increasing use of torrents. It is in this sense that we can see a fairly significant increase in illegal downloading of books. In the UK, the number of illegal e-books consumed is around 17%. In Germany, it is the opposite effect. It is estimated that only 10% of e-books are legal. In France many books are pirated like manga. Nearly 400 million chapters are scanned illegally per year. Be that as it may, faced with the rise of this practice, some countries have taken drastic measures. 
What illegal downloading entails
A book that is not bought is less money for the publisher of the book and its author. The e-book sector is not flourishing, so this does not encourage publishers to continue in this momentum.E-book sales account for only 8.4% of literary sales.This low figure could be explained by the significant presence of illegal downloading.In Italy, nearly 8 800 jobs are destroyed per year, the damage is estimated at around EUR 530 million, i.e. 23% of the book market.
Measures taken
In some countries such as Japan, where e-book downloads are important, manga is mostly pirated. The scantrad (digitized manga) has experienced a resurgence, the Japanese government has had to act quickly. From January 2021, illegal downloading of manga will be punishable by two years in prison and a fine of around 16,000 euros.
How to read without breaking the bank?
To support your authors and not remain illegal. There are simpler solutions.As a first step, you can by common sense go and borrow books from your local library.Generally, this will make you pay a fee for registration (no more than 20 euros). You will have access to a panel of various books. If you are a student you can have access to some databases such as Cairn.fr which offers you to read books for free. You can also buy your second-hand books on the boncoin, on Recyclivre or in associative bookstores. 
We hope this article has deterred you from pirating literary content online in order to support authors who work hard to present you with quality works!
