Today's typical e-book reader is a woman, "between 40 and 50 years old, who tends to have a higher-than-average income and level of education." A few years ago, by contrast, the most likely consumer of e-books was a male gadget freak.

That's one of the market changes noted by Steven Pendergrast, president and chief technology officer of Fictionwise, the e-book seller purchased by Barnes & Noble for $15.7 million earlier this month.

Pendergrast made his remarks about the e-book market in an interview with computerworld.com.

About 55% of traditional book readers are women, says Pendergrast, and he sees the fact that more women are now reading e-books as a healthy sign for the market.

Pendergrast also points to the recent addition of e-book readers for iPhone and BlackBerryElectronic users and predicts a  "huge surge" in e-book sales in 2010.