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Motricity's eReader.com, the most popular source for eBooks on the Web, has released its December 2004 eBook Bestseller List. While its no New York Times Bestseller List, it is a good way to see what folks who choose to read books on there PDAs, smartphones, eBook readers and PCs are buying.

In fiction, Michael Crichton captures the number one spot with his new book, State of Fear, as well as the number nine slot with "Prey". The late Isaac Asimov also landed two top spots with Foundation and Second Foundation.

Top Ten Fiction eBooks

Rank     Title        Author      eList      Subject
                                  Price      Category
--------------------------------------------------------
1     State of     Michael                 Suspense &
      Fear         Crichton      $19.95    Thrillers
--------------------------------------------------------
2     God's                                 Contemporary
      Debris     Scott Adams     $4.95     Fiction
--------------------------------------------------------
      The Da                                Suspense &
3    Vinci Code  Dan Brown       $14.95     Thrillers
--------------------------------------------------------
      Angels &                              Suspense &
4     Demons     Dan Brown       $6.99      Thrillers
--------------------------------------------------------
      Digital                               Suspense &
5     Fortress   Dan Brown       $5.99      Thrillers
--------------------------------------------------------
                   Isaac                    Science
6    Foundation    Asimov        $4.99      Fiction
--------------------------------------------------------
     Darwins
     Radio/
     Darwin's                               Science
7    Children     Greg Bear      $7.50      Fiction
--------------------------------------------------------
     Second       Isaac                    Science
8    Foundation   Asimov         $4.99     Fiction
--------------------------------------------------------
                  Michael                  Suspense &
9    Prey        Crichton        $7.99     Thrillers
--------------------------------------------------------
      Deception                            Suspense &
10    Point      Dan Brown       $6.99     Thrillers
--------------------------------------------------------

As for non-fiction, The Procrastinator's Handbook earned the top spot, while the The Purpose Driven Life made it onto the list, and the The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People continued to do well.

Top Ten Non-Fiction eBooks

  

Rank       Title         Author      eList    Subject
                                     Price    Category
-------------------------------------------------------------
        The
        Procrastinator's               
 1      Handbook          Rita Emmett   $5.00     Self Help
-------------------------------------------------------------
 2      NIV Holy Bible    Zondervan     $14.99    Religion
-------------------------------------------------------------
     Merriam-Webster's
     Collegiate(R )
     Dictionary,          Merriam-                Dictionaries
 3   Eleventh Edition     Webster       $23.95    & Thesauri
-------------------------------------------------------------
        Merriam-Webster's
        Collegiate(R)     Merriam-                Dictionaries
 4      Thesaurus         Webster       $16.95    & Thesauri
-------------------------------------------------------------
       The Templar       Lynn Picknett,
 5     Revelation        Clive Prince   $8.99     Religion
-------------------------------------------------------------
       The Da Vinci       Hank
       Code:  Fact or     Hanegraaff,             Thought &
 6     Fiction            Paul Maier    $4.99    Culture
-------------------------------------------------------------
 7     The Art of War     Sun Tzu       $2.95    Classics
-------------------------------------------------------------
       A Short History
        of Nearly                                 Science &
 8     Everything         Bill Bryson   $17.95   Nature
-------------------------------------------------------------
      The Purpose
 9    Driven Life         Rick Warren  $15.99    Religion
-------------------------------------------------------------
      The 7 Habits of
      Highly Effective   Stephen R.              Business and
 10    People             Covey         $11.95   Technology
--------------------------------------------------------------

General eBook Stats
Although eBook sales aren't a match for traditional paperback and hard cover book sales (1.4 million downloadable books compared with the more than 2.2 billion traditional books sold in the United States in 2003), they are on the rise.

Back in July, the Open eBook Forum-the standards association for the eBook industry-reported in July that retailers sold 46 percent more eBooks during the first quarter of 2004 than the same period a year earlier. Revenues increased by 28 percent to $3,233,220.