There is nothing quite like a book. And not just for reading. There is nothing quite like holding a book, possessing a book. The heft of a book, the smell of book, the sight of a book. Books, as Anthony Powell famously put it, do furnish a room.

Well, perhaps not any more. Last week the latest electronic book went on sale in the United Kingdom - the Sony Reader. Its rival, the Amazon Kindle, will surely follow it before too long, bringing its far larger online bookstore. If they succeed, an entire library will not take up enough space to furnish a briefcase.

There have been many previous attempts to create electronic reading devices. They were unsuccessful. Was that because of their technical failings? Or because readers simply do not want a replacement for their beloved print editions?

It will not be long before these questions are answered. For this time the technology firms have produced a serious challenge to paper. The new E ink technology allows the devices to be read even in bright sunlight and without the strain of reading a backlit screen.

The inclination of readers and publishers might nevertheless be to reject the new product out of hand as almost philistine. But this would be a mistake.

Besides being very convenient for buying and carrying books, the new devices could enable a publishing revolution. They reduce the cost of producing new volumes vastly, making it easier for authors to see their work published even if they are catering for a minority audience.

When William Caxton brought the printing press to England, his fellow merchants were pretty disparaging about it.