by Bailey Shoemaker Richards

Created on: October 03, 2009

A new bestseller is a hot commodity for many people, and bookstores tend to run out of them pretty quickly, especially in the first few days and sometimes weeks of sales. For people who don't want to pre-order a book, wait in long lines, miss out on a chance to get a copy or who want to try out a newer way of reading books, electronic books are becoming more readily available. Ebooks are a major development in the publishing industry; they have the capacity for unlimited distribution with negligible production costs -meaning that not only can more people access books, they will be cheaper and use less paper as well.

Technology like the Sony Reader and Amazon's Kindle offer ways for readers to read ebooks in any setting; because ebook readers are small, portable and can hold upwards of 1,000 books, they are great options for those who need to read on the go. Another great function of ebook readers is their ability to remote download books within moments; what this means is that a device like the Kindle can have a copy of a brand-new bestseller on it the minute it's released to the public. No waiting in lines, no missing out on purchase opportunities.

Ebook readers function by providing a platform for what is in a way a PDF version of a book; the format of pages is almost identical to a regular book, despite it being electronic. Additionally, the font sizes can be adjusted based on how the individual wants to read the book; getting a large print book electronically is the work of a couple of seconds and pushing a button or two.

Purchasing best-sellers for electronic viewing can be done in several ways. Amazon is most notable for its Kindle reader, although there are other ebook devices hitting the market. Using Amazon's service allows people to purchase the book and have it sent to their Kindle, where it can be read immediately.

Some authors may even provide electronic copies of books on their blogs or websites. Authors like Cory Doctorow gave their careers a major push by offering free electronic copies of their books. In the case of an electronic copy provided by an individual, it is likely to be a PDF file that may or may not be transferable to an ebook reader. In this case, the book will still be available for reading on a desktop or laptop computer.

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