The eNews - all that's happening in the world of books

eBook sales in the UK increased by 366% last year helping to offset a decline in the market for printed books, according to new official figures released by The Publishers Association. The UK eBook industry was worth £92m in 2011, - a massive leap from the previous year. However the strong digital sales have come at the expense of print sales which were down 7% on the previous year.

The first Saturday in May is Free Comic Book Day - participating comic book shops across the known galaxy and adjacent alternate dimensions give away comics absolutely FREE (hence, the name) to anyone who comes into their stores. It’s meant to drum up interest in comics, promote art and reading, and basically make the world a better place. So don't forget to visit your local specialist comic book shop this Saturday.

50 Shades of Grey - started out as a self published eBook but the erotic saga is now everywhere and it has created a new genre, Mommy Porn. The erotic trilogy has broken download records and climbed to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list and Amazon's greatest hits. With themes of bondage, domination and sadism, it isn't your typical Harlequin romance but a kicked up lust story that falls into the new category of "Mommy Porn." The Archive predicted a few years back that the erotic genre would thrive in the new electronic reading medium - eReaders have made the genre much more accessible and private with no embarrassing covers to take to the checkout stand or to the kids' karate class. The eReader is the ultimate brown paper wrapping.

It is no surprise that Harry Potter is doing well in eBook. Ever since the Harry Potter eBooks were released earlier this year they have been some of the most downloaded books in history. Overdrive has reported that all of the Harry Potter books account for 64% of the top Juvenile Fiction eBook and Audiobook titles downloaded in April, occupying 51 of 80 possible positions on OverDrive’s Most Downloaded Books from the Library lists for the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

As reported earlier Warmer Brothers have gotten into the eBook world with a series of digital script books from some of its most famous movies. We now have more details - Each e-book retails for $10, and includes rare historical documents from the Warner Bros archives, like “Casablanca” producer Hall Wallis’ production notes, Warner Bros' studio chief Jack Warner’s telegrams and memos, and excerpts from “Ben-Hur” star Charlton Heston’s acting and shooting journals, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A bit cheeky this one but I've read a report that  readers are more experimental with eBooks and are trying genres that they had previously ignored. It comes as no surprise to discover that crime is by far the most popular genre for eBook readers but fantasy, horror, erotica and even the humble old western are doing well. And so might I suggest anyone wanting to experiment with genre, try my western Arkansas Smith which comes to eBook after a successful run in hardcover.