For years the story went that the e-book revolution would kill off paperbacks and the bricks-and-mortars that sold them. But booksellers here and overseas say the plot has twisted sharply.

The Kindle "has disappeared to all intents and purposes", said the head of Britain's biggest book chain Waterstones this month, while reporting that print book sales lifted by 5 per cent in December. It sparked a flurry of questions about the e-reader's death.

"Disappeared for all intents and purposes": Global Kindle sales peaked in 2011. Credit:AFP

The news reflected upbeat trends picked up by Sydney bookseller Jon Page in the three months to Christmas – a period that accounts for 70 per cent of the year's trade.

"Sales were up 3 per cent on last year, which is fantastic because for three years [up to 2013] we'd actually seen a decline in that time," said Mr Page, owner of Pages and Pages in Mosman, which stocks Kindle's rival the Kobo.