Success Story: Phenomenal Rise Of eBooks

The phenomenal rise in the number of people choosing to read books on electronic devices is expected to continue over the next year.

The industry is reluctant to give out detailed sales figures, but David Roth-Ey from publisher HarperCollins said: "The electronic market is really booming.

"We are seeing 600% growth year on year in eBooks. That is in a frankly stagnant book selling market."

There are a number of devices available on which to download electronic books.

Amazon say the Kindle is their best selling product. Eight months ago the company announced that customers were choosing Kindle books over hardcover books at a rate of more than two to one, even as hard cover sales continued to grow.

On Amazon since April 2011, 242 Kindle books have been sold for every 100 hardcover books.

Amazon's Allan Lyall said: "They are really convenient, easy to use. You can change the font size to suit you eye. You can just flip the pages through. So folks are finding the product itself really convenient. And of course it is delivered in a very convenient way."

I asked a group of 17-year-old's what they thought. Becky Summerfield told me: "It is easier than going into a library and searching through."

Sam Payne-Cheney said: "I often have six or seven books to take with me to school. If I've got them all on the device I just have to carry this."

But Katrina Watson was less convinced.

"There is something more personal about getting a book. You can pass them down to generations. But with this you've just got it all stored there and there's nothing exciting about it," she said.

The technology means authors like Sophie Nicholls, who is based in York, can circulate work without a publisher. One of her eBooks 'The Dress' became a bestseller.

"I have been able to put a book together, get it edited and proof read myself, put it out there literally with the click of a few buttons. It is so simple to do.

"It is so exciting. From a revenue point of view I am earning money from the minute that I put the book out there and that's a huge advantage obviously for an author."

There will be those who believe it will never really catch on - but all the evidence points to the fact it already has.