Bokslut? Den skönlitterära e-boken ur ett läsarperspektiv

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to accomplish a user study on how e-book users experience the electronic book, the e-book, as an instrument for reading fiction. The study is based upon qualitative interviews with twelve e-book users and a small survey carried out at the Stockholm City Library. The purpose is to identify the users' incentive for choosing the e-book as a medium for reading fiction, elucidate if and how the interface of the e-book affects the reading experience, and distinguish if there are any factors common to the users in their choice of reading e-books. How the users look upon the future of the e-book is also discussed. Among the people asked in the survey we note little if any demand for the e-book as an instrument for reading fiction. The interviewees declare varying motives to using e-books as a medium for reading fiction, such as an interest in new media technology, literature and new authors, but also qualities of the very reading device, such as storage capacity, mobility, availability, and interaction. Although they use the e-book for reading fiction, the interviewees still regard the printed book superior to the e-book due to the former's materiality, value and status, consequential to its technical and symbolic interface. The e-book and the paper book serve different purposes, the e-book is mainly being used as a complement to the traditional paper book in the act of reading fiction.