In an article I came across in the British newspaper, The Independent it would seem that in the UK at least, one of the main reasons people buy ereaders is to allow them to read socially unacceptable ebooks in public without embarrassment.

“Unacceptable” in this context seems to mean erotica or children’s ebooks, both types of writing that most adults are leery of being seen reading in public.

To back up this contention, which is based on a small survey carried out by a British online coupon selling website, (My Voucher Codes) in which they asked some 1,863 owners of ereaders for their main reasons for buying an ereader. It transpired that about 58% of these good souls had purchased their ereaders in order to be able to read their erotic or children’s books in public places with no embarrassment.

These findings are backed up by the sales figures of the various genres of ebook/paper book that are selling just now. It seems that about 50% of erotica is sold in ebook form, as opposed to 20% of general fiction, and in the slightly less risque category of writing, romance publisher Mills & Boon release about 100 digital titles a month, against 55 physical titles.

Further, the astonishing success of the Fifty Shades of Grey series, the first volume of which sold some 250 000 copies in ebook format before the paper version was even released would seem to confirm those findings. And the subsequent volumes seem to be repeating that story as well…. And the reason people give for buying the ebook version? They can read it on the train on their way to work with no risk of embarrassment… simple as that.

So, people are choosing to use ereaders over paper books so they can sit in the train, happily reading Harry Potter, heaving bosom romance (particularly sensitive for men) or downright filthy erotica, and be certain that no one sitting nearby will have a clue as to what they are reading – provided they keep the font size as small as possible, of course!

Image source:  The Guardian Paper.

Source:   The independent Newspaper;

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Does this strike a chord with you? Did you buy your ereader in order to peacefully read The Wind in the Willows or The Sexy Sins of Susan in crowded trains?