Question

in all book formats for a large us trade publisher, by genre, 2006, 2011, 2016
e - books became an increasingly popular means of reading in the united states in the 2000s and 2010s, though that popularity was concentrated in titles that, like those in most fiction genres, are meant to be read straight through from beginning to end. for books in nonfiction genres that do not tell stories and require the reader to flip back and forth through a volume, e - books were significantly less commercially successful. this can be seen by comparing
which choice most effectively uses data from the table to illustrate the claim?
the percentage of 2016 cookbook sales that were e - books with the percentage of 2016 science fiction and fantasy sales that were e - books.
the percentage of 2006 romance sales that were e - books with the percentage of 2016 romance sales that were e - books.
the percentage of 2006 romance sales that were e - books with the 2006 science fiction and fantasy sales that were e - books.
the percentage of 2011 travel guide sales that were e - books with the percentage of 2016 travel guide sales that were e - books.

Explanation:

The claim is that e - book popularity was concentrated in fiction genres (meant to be read straight through) and less successful in non - fiction (requiring flipping).

• Option A: Compares two fiction genres (cookbooks are non - fiction in this context as they are for reference, science fiction/fantasy is fiction). But it's not the best as it doesn't contrast fiction and non - fiction well.
• Option B: Compares the same non - fiction genre (romance is actually a fiction genre, but if we assume a wrong categorization in the problem's context, it's still within the same genre over time, not showing the fiction - non - fiction contrast).
• Option C: Compares two fiction genres (romance and science fiction/fantasy) in the same year. Doesn't show the fiction - non - fiction difference.
• Option A: Cookbooks (non - fiction as they are for reference, need flipping) and science fiction/fantasy (fiction, read straight through) in the same year (2016). This effectively shows the contrast between non - fiction (less e - book success, 10.5) and fiction (more e - book success, 36.7) as per the claim.

Answer:

A. the percentage of 2016 cookbook sales that were e - books with the percentage of 2016 science fiction and fantasy sales that were e - books.