In fact, coverage of e-readers in the UK has ranged from the disgusted to the disinterested.

Which is really sad, because I think this new technology is a revelation. In fact, even though Sony never sent me that promised e-reader for review (mumble, grumble) and despite the device's £199 price tag, I'm over-the-moon with excitement over the whole idea, just as I was when Amazon launched their market leading e-reading device The Kindle in the US a year ago.

You see, e-readers offer many more advantages than reading a publication on say, a laptop. They are easier on the eyes so readers can experience something akin to reading a book, without the environmental impact of the physical publishing process.

Plus, unlike a laptop, an e-reader approximates the feel of a book, so it's light and portable and you can curl up in a corner with a cup of tea with it just like your favourite paperback. But (perhaps the biggest selling point for me) you're not only curling up with one book: you can carry hundreds of books around with you on an e-reader, without any added weight. Think of the potential for school and university students, who will no longer have to strain their shoulders by heaving around bags full of books.

This is revolutionary! It's genius! And we should all be hugely excited about it! And yet we're not.

Some critics worry that electronic books signal the end of reading, but that's an argument I have little respect for. Not only will paper books no doubt exist for a long time to come but e-readers only change the way books are delivered, they do not alter their content or the joy and information reading can give us. 

A more serious concern is that authors might lose out, as most current contracts don't give writers any extra cash for e-book sales: this has to change, and authors have to be pro-active and interested in standing up for their rights. This doesn't mean campaigning against e-readers but ensuring that future contracts take the potential of electronic sales seriously. Awareness of new technology is the only way for authors to stay on top of things.

But perhaps the biggest barrier to the success of e-reading devices is their cost. Even though the Sony Reader is half the price of the Iliad, it still costs almost £200 at a time when the global economy couldn't be described as booming. Maybe devices are going to have to start off as heavily-subsidised loss leaders if they are to really succeed in today's marketplace.

But what convinces me that my enthusiasm for e-reading is not misplaced is the story of the iPod. Five years ago, we were all sceptical about the idea of swapping an entire CD collection for one tiny gadget, but now MP3 players are commonplace. IPods began as luxury items that only a few people could afford, but quickly progressed to become more affordable and to offer better functionality. There's no reason to suppose that e-readers won't do the same.

There are even rumours that Amazon might launch the Kindle in the UK next year. The Kindle is even more exciting that the Sony Reader, as it offers the ability to wirelessly download a book from Amazon's website in seconds, as well as the chance to download popular blogs and news websites. If the device is introduced here, Sony and iRex will have no choice but to fight back with even more impressive specs and who knows what we'll be able to do with our e-readers in future.

If you love reading and that doesn't sound even a little bit exciting to you, you might want to check for a pulse.


[Diane Shipley is a freelance journalist whose specialist subjects include books and technology.]