Who’s reading efiction?

IN the vast sea of digital fiction, one recently voiced trade perception is that there are more authors than there are readers. Whoopee for readers! The choice of titles has never been greater, yet are these books worth reading?
As an avid reader, I welcome the comment that an established epublisher gets from 50 to 500 submissions per week. How this will evolve into published fiction is a statistic still to be discovered. Individual publishers, so far, have been wary of issuing any sales figures.
Statistics for ebooks as a whole (which includes non-fiction) confirm rate of growth similar to past years. Sales have doubled annually since records began. But what’s the breakdown between fiction and non-fiction? Business and academic texts obviously claim the major slice of sales. How fares fiction? Who’s reading it?
Well, for a start, I am. Printed books from my public library are a lifelong habit, as are purchased titles from a bookshop. Free downloads to my laptop and Eco ereader have so far been limited to classic works that I never bothered to read before. Here I confess they are no more attractive onscreen and usually get dumped after a chapter or two. With few exceptions their language is dated, their time long past.
Other free fiction downloads are so numerous, and so awful, that I don’t bother with them anymore.
But what about the BUYING of ebooks? Yes, I purchase them, mostly fiction, and delight in the big array on offer. These are the genuine titles. Their publishers have confidence in their worth and that's why you pay to read them.
What’s more, free samples allow fairly accurate judgment by a digital shopper before proceeding to the checkout.
Sifting through these samples is a pleasant chore. The unappealing are simply deleted.
The great advantage over physical bookshop browsing is this: discovery of a good unfamiliar author is quicker. So is the capture of a current bestseller.
My favourite browsing is at Smashwords, which offers multi formats and doesn't frustrate with DRM (Digital Rights Maintenance) blockage. Mobipocket is another favourite, for ease of navigation and quality titles if you can put up with DRM. Just visit these sites and see for yourself.
At Booktaste we display some of the best finds. One click on any cover takes you to it. Happy reading!