I went to a book reading last night at a central London branch of Waterstone's (Estrella Damn by Matthew Loukes, since you ask, I can highly recommend it). Hanging about in a book shop after hours was rather fun, and simply surveying the books on offer in what is a relatively compact store was an eye-opener in itself.

Looking at the vast array of book formats and cover treatments (including a football book with an Astroturf cover, which rather leapt out from the shelf) made me think about how the physical and design aspects of a title play such an important part in purchasing decisions - particularly impulse buys. And similarly, how the tactile nature of a printed book can contribute so much in itself to the reading pleasure. At home I have a 1949 "thin paper edition" of Everybody's Pepys that is such a beautiful little book in its own right, it counts as a favourite possession even aside from the words of the great diarist.

And so it was with a heavy heart that I noted that the aforementioned Waterstone's has just published its first top ten list of bestselling e-book titles, and this week Sony has embarked upon a massive promotional campaign in the States to promote its e-book reader. This campaign will involve Sony giving away some 15 million (yes million) e-book titles to schools and education institutions, along with several hundred readers, so it seems like a pretty big push. I wonder if they will do something similar over here.

While my knee-jerk reaction is to be anti-e-book, perhaps I should challenge my prejudices. Perhaps I should buy one. If I happen upon a spare £200 kicking about, I will. But expense aside, if the widespread advent of e-books will result in more people, and particularly younger people, reading then hopefully that will be a good thing for the book category overall. It could also spur further innovation in terms of the print techniques used in the production of the physical versions. Which brings to mind a couple of recent publications that I can't imagine working quite as well in an e-format: The Mighty Book of Boosh and the Folio Society's Letterpress Hamlet (in fact, everything produced by the Folio Society) make me confident that the appeal of printed books will endure.