EVER since ebooks arrived on the scene, doom-mongers have been predicting that a paperless future is just around the corner.

But there is good news for bookworms everywhere after new figures showed sales of paper books jumped by two per cent last year while their electronic cousins failed to fly off the shelves.

More than 360 million books were sold in 2016 while ebook sales dropped by four per cent.

Zool Verjee of Blackwell’s in Broad Street said it was good news for book shops.

He said: “There has been a lot of really good publishing going on and people love paper books.

“Publishers are getting more and more inventive and children’s books have been an area of real growth for five or six years. People do like physical books, people love to teach their children and it is a joy to see them picking up real books and learning to love them.”

Part of the boost for paper was put down to an explosion in sales of adult colouring books, while high-profile releases such as The Girl on the Train and Go Set a Watchman also contributed.

But the survey by industry research group Nielsen also showed that younger generations were particularly keen to get their hands on the real thing.

Chipping Norton author Clare Mackintosh, who has recently released her newest book I See You, said she was delighted that paper book sales had risen. She said: “We are seeing a real resurgence with young people buying vinyl records as well, people are rediscovering the 3D experience of something like literature.

“There is nothing more inspiring as an author than being surrounded by books.

“It is brilliant news and any news about book sales is always brilliant because it draws people’s attention to the industry.”

Although ebook sales have tailed off they remain much higher than in previous years and held a 25 per cent market share in 2016 compared to 18 per cent in 2012.

Assisted Reading for Children in Oxfordshire (ARCh) recruits, trains and supports volunteers in primary schools across the county who help children to develop a love of reading.

Lucy Liddicot from the charity said the rise in paper book sales showed that its mission was bearing fruit.

She said: “We find that children love physical books and we provide our volunteers with a box full of loads of different books.

“Paper books are important because sometimes the children will ask our volunteers if they can take a book home with them because they can then share them with their families.

“Younger children like the feel of a book and turning the pages. You get more out of the book, particularly with illustrations and it is more of a sharing experience.”