Technologically, it's surprising that digital books didn't take off before digital music. After all, you can fit most books in just a few hundred kilobytes, which makes them easy to store and distribute. Developers had to come up with heavy compression algorithms to shrink audio and video files for distribution over the internet, and even then it took huge advances in hard drive capacity and broadband access for digital music and video to take off.

But over the last few years we've seen companies like Sony and Amazon put a lot of effort into developing hardware that makes reading e-Books more like reading a paper book and that's probably made a big difference. Some people just never liked the idea of reading books on a computer or cell phone screen. And then there are concerns over copyright issues.

Top Ten Reasons Why e-Books Are Better Than Printed Books

1. They're quicker to obtain. If you want specific information and it's available in a book, you can purchase an e-Book and download it immediately. Instead of waiting for a printed book to be delivered, you can assess this information now.

2. e-Books are more easily updated and upgraded. Information changes rapidly today. Books on many subjects can become dated very quickly. E-Books can be easily and quickly kept up to date. When you order an e-Book, it can be the most up-to-the-minute information available.

3. You usually get far more than just the book. Most e-Books are sold with bonuses and related information that usually don't come with the purchase of a traditional book. You might pay the same or even a bit more for an e-Book, but you usually get more, too.

4. e-Books take up less space. Instead of a bulky library, you can fit literally thousands of books on your computer. It also makes it easier to share this information with family and coworkers.

5. e-Books don't use up trees. Except when you print one out--something I usually do for booklets and special reports--e-Books use very few natural resources. We save trees and help reduce pollution from pulp mills.

6. They're more portable. You can have quick and easy access to hundreds of books on your desktop computer, notebook or e-Book reader. They're much easier to take with you than traditional tomes.

7. References can be hot-linked. Easy links to Web sites and other references can be placed in an electronic book. While reading, you can click on hot links to other places to find out more. With the proliferation of wireless networks, this will become even more useful.

8. You can custom brand them. Other people's e-Books can be branded with your name and you can allow others to brand YOUR e-Books with THEIR name. There are many viral e-Books and reports that the creators will often allow you to give away or sell, with your name or company's name shown on the cover or linked at the end.

9. You can do global searches and find information quickly. When you're looking for certain information within a book, you can easily find it using the find feature. It saves you time and aggravation looking for something in particular.

10. The technology will get better. This is an emerging technology and people are often slow to change. But as the quality of monitors improve and become more compact and mobile, more and more we'll be reading electronic books.