Twelve books on the computer- better than one in the hand?

This thesis studies how readers of the electronic book (the e-book) use and perceive the electronic medium as a carrier of fiction. In this study it is assumed that fiction is mostly read in printed format. Therefore it is interesting to ask why some readers choose to read on screen. As there are all too few studies conducted on how readers perceive and use the e-book as a medium, this study aims to enrich an undeveloped research area. The study is based upon a qualitative questionnaire. It focuses on the e-book as a carrier of written text, which means that e-books such as mp3-books are not taken into account. The media theory Uses and Gratifications is used as a perspective from which the results are analysed. The theory also provides the reader of the study with a cognitive framework and a context in which the study is placed. The results are analysed using themes constructed from the answers of the respondents. Among the diverse result, the major conclusion is that there are two different reading situations, which decide how the respondents experience and use the e-book. The first reading situation is limited, because of the use of desktop computer or laptop when reading, in which the respondents are emotionally attached to the paper book. The other situation is flexible because of the use of palm computer or mobile phone, which makes flexible reading possible for the respondents who appreciate the e-book and the paper book as two separate media.Uppsatsnivå: