Is it time to embrace the e-book?

Could printed pages one day be a thing of the past?

When electronic books first came onto the market, some thought it spelt the end for the printed page.

But following a flurry of headlines, and prophesies of doom from the publishing industry, the revolution in downloadable literature failed to materialise.

However, despite scepticism from some technology experts that the tactile satisfaction of the paper book has not been successfully replicated, it now seems that the e-book is starting to take off.

The Amazon "kindle" e-book sold out in the United States within a few hours on its first run. Bookseller Borders' iLiad e-book is selling well and the much-hyped Sony Reader is due out in September.

"It has been spoken about for a long time but things are actually starting to happen," says Julie Howkins, head of e-commerce at Borders.

"Publishers are beginning to think seriously about their e-book strategy."

'Books breed overnight'

Two literary professionals put the e-book to the test over the last few weeks, with surprisingly positive results.

"You forget about the technology if the story is good," says author Naomi Alderman.

"It just becomes invisible."

Kathryn Hughes, Professor of Life Writing at University of East Anglia admitted that she was quite happy to take her e-book to bed with her.

What is more, it solves the problem of holiday reading when after the first week all you have left is "a battered copy of Vogue from three months ago and something on sale in the local boutique, written in German."

Now you can just nip down to the local internet connection and top up your reading.

While Hughes admits that "there is a visceral quality that you miss with an old book", it is the question of space that pleases her most.

"I find that my books breed overnight," she says.

"I can control my environment now. I'm not going to live in this ever-expanding library."

What is slowing the take off of the e-book, says Alderman, is that the book has become a "celebrity object".

"People are fetishising the paper book, they are fetishising literature," she says.

It is not an iPod moment for books Julie Howkins, Borders

But with over 25,000 classic books, whose copyright has run out, available for download from the website Project Gutenburg, Alderman is emphatic about the impact e-books will eventually have.

"They represent a democratisation of literature even more important than the public library," she says.

No substitute

But before you start a bonfire on your bookshelves, a word of caution.

While in the US there are an increasing number of new books available online, publishers in the UK have been slow to release their books in an electronic format.

E-book readers are still expensive and there is no agreement in the industry over a single format for downloads.

"It is not an iPod moment for books," says Julie Howkins.

"The devices are coming on the market, but there still isn't a great deal of content.

"It will be a considerable time before e-books compete with the paper book."

Even the most gadget savvy experts are sceptical about an e-book revolution.

Patrick Goss, editor of technology website TechRadar.com says that the new devices are certainly exciting and may well be useful in certain circumstances - searching text books and saving space in your luggage, for example.

But they are still no substitute for the real thing, he says.

"The book is the most perfect use of technology humanity has ever invented.

"They are cheap to mass produce, contain a huge amount of easily accessible data and all you need to use them is a small amount of light."

"There is a real tactile pleasure in reading books that you just don't get reading from a screen."

Paper-free future?

A sigh of relief then for fans of paper and print, for now at least. But there is no telling how people's reading habits will change in the future.

"The younger generation have spent their formative years reading from screens. We don't really know how they are going to react," says Goss.

What is more, he says that there is no telling how far the technology is going to advance.

"It is perfectly conceivable that in the future we could have something that looks like a book, feels like a book, reads like a book and with separate paper-thin pages like a book, but which uses e-ink instead of the normal kind."

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Do you read your books in a digital format? Is it time to embrace the e-book?

The biggest "problem" is that the price difference between an ebook and the paper version is sometimes very small.
Laurent, Paris

Like the other chap, I have been reading books from Gutenberg on a Palm computer for several years now. I've happily ploughed through Dickens, Hugo and Dostoyevsky among many, many others. Not a problem. I like being able to put a couple of dozen thick books in my pocket when I go on holiday. My Palm isn't that great in bright sunlight outdoors either, but I'm sure there are models with better screens.
John Lambert, Lower Hutt, New Zealand

What will make or break these devices is the available content. Finding something to read is not always easy. Try and find a list of available e-books on the Borders web site for example.
Andy E, Colchester, UK

I bought my Sony ebook reader in New York over a year ago. It is easy to carry, easy to use and beautifully clear. Sadly though, Uncle Sam and Auntie Sony restrict what I am actually allowed to download and as such, it has turned into a very expensive copy of Animal Farm.
Chris Jones, Aberdeen, UK

They don't need paper, printing, laminating, binding, storing, packaging, postage costs - and when finished with they don't require disposal either. All these items are a pleasure not to have to pass the cost on to e-book customers.
Alex Kent, Eastbourne, UK

I live in a 22' vehicle and the last thing I want to do is pay to haul several hundred pounds of paper around. Most of my library is electronic but I really miss my old favourites.
Mike, USA (ex-UK)

I think books still have a long way to go. There's something -I don't know what- that I love about printed books. The odour, the shape, the pleasure of passing pages and bookmarking them. The possibility of making annotations...
Martín Alejandro Carmona Selva, Barcelona, Spain

I have over a thousand books in my library and I do embrace digital music, films, But digital books I have tried with an E Reader and I do no like it at all, i'd rather have the real thing in my hands, makes you look more intellectual as well. :-P
Gaz, Sale, UK

I started reading E Books on my PALM whilst travelling on the Moscow Metro. To me its ideal. I can read on a small device in a crowded space. Download books quickly in English (wish there were more however), prices of ebooks are fairly cheap and no one knows I am reading English!!
Richard, Moscow, Russia

I'm a voracious reader easily getting through a book a week and a great traveller. Packing several books into my luggage is not really an option! I have a Sony eReader on pre-order. With their launch in the UK they are expanding their support to include the ePub format which many eBooks use. Also, their link up with Waterstones in the UK means there will be many books from the online Waterstones store to read. Hopefully from September I can start to reduce the number of trees that are felled to meet my reading habits!
Nick, Leeds, UK

Why does everyone miss the point of these? these aren't going to be used for light reading. just as mobile phones were first used by business men, these little devices are going to revolutionise any research and development department.
Robert Astbury, Manchester

As a student who has grown up surrounded by the digital revolution, I am entirely sick of reading from screens...paper is my perference by far - monitors are a last resort!
Gerry Hawkins, Saffron Walden, Essex

The biggest current problem is that the readers are too expensive, too large and fragile. If I drop my $7 paperback or forget it someplace, who cares? If I drop or forget my $300 e-book, it's another story altogether. I currently read e-books using a Palm Z22. It only shows about 30 characters per 10 lines, but it's cheap and handy and fits in my shirt pocket.
Jim K, Freeland USA

Yes but - can you read one in the bath?
Jessica, Maidenhead, Berks

Wouldnt be without mine now. I've had my Cybook e-book reader for several months, it works great, and just as good, it's DRM free.The e-ink technology produces the text just like a normal book, and it's just as easy on the eyes as the paper variety.
Timbo, Netherlands