These days you can fit hundreds of books into one e-book reader or smartphone, and this has led publishers, writers and readers alike to ask whether this means the death of the printed book and a drastic change in how we read. Or, as some hope and believe, will the electronic book format simply complement traditional book publishing?
The fact that a book can be downloaded from almost anywhere in the world has blurred the lines between author, reader, format and distribution, and this has caused some head-scratching at some of the world's biggest publishing companies. Such companies must adapt, and quickly, to the new market; but many are nervous of the risks and often shareholders are not willing to break new ground.
For many writers, however, e-publishing provides new freedoms and opportunities. Many e-books are published by writers who do not have a readership through mainstream publishers, and this allows them to deal with material that mainstream publishers would consider too controversial or otherwise unmarketable.
The market is very much driven by the consumer, and publishing companies are going to have to deal with this new situation sooner or later. It is quite a complicated situation, but it doesn't have to be either/or. The book as we know it has been around for about 500 years and, once things settle down, there is no reason why the e-book and the traditional printed book should not exist happily side by side.