So where do you stand on the great e-book debate? Is the digitisation of books as inevitable as the digitisation of every other as aspect of life in the western world in the 21st century? Or is an e-book ruining the experience of reading a book where there is as much physical pleasure as mental? Many find it hard to divide the love of reading from the love of books with careful readers finding the physical properties of the paper and the dust jacket as pleasurable as the mental devouring of the written word. It seems impossible that such experiences will be lost. However research suggests that those who are used to online are ready to embrace the e-book in a way that seemed unlikely just a few years ago. One reason why e-books may be on the cusp of being a serious proposition is that the technology has caught up with the initial hype and promise. Carrying around a thick book may have its disadvantages but that is still a better bet than being in possession of an e-book reader which doesn't quite have the right screen size, battery lifespan, lighting or weight.
Research commissioned by Nielsen Book showed that 3% of regular internet users were "extremely likely" to buy a dedicated e-book reader in the next three months with a further 4% very likely to make a purchase. The online survey generated 6,500 respondents and illustrated a widespread awareness of the device. The intent to purchase e-books was also measured with 9% of respondents extremely or very likely to buy an e-book within the same timeframe.
Whether you may have expected a higher response among such a digitally aware audience is a matter of dispute. Of course given the economic gloom and the lack of consumer confidence maybe this is not the best time to be selling a new concept to a fragile feeling buying and reading public. But perhaps what is most interesting is that Nielsen is taking e-books seriously enough to be developing a way of measuring the sales of e-books alongside the method it has for counting physical book sales. Comparing sales of e-books with their real life counterparts should be a good measure of how many of us are truly embracing the digital world.