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Romance novels have also captured a larger proportion of the electronic book market than other categories. Whereas most publishers say that about 1 percent of sales come from e-books, Harlequin says that digital editions make up about 3.4 percent of its sales.

At Fictionwise, the e-book seller recently acquired by Barnes & Noble, about 50 percent of sales are romance books, said Steve Pendergrast, chief technology officer. “Romance readers tend to be voracious readers,” Mr. Pendergrast said. “The ability to instantly download and start reading is potentially more important to that audience than any other audience.”

The growing market for digital romance novels has attracted several newcomers, including tiny independent publishers like Ellora’s Cave, Samhain Publishing and Ravenous Romance.

Because they have no distribution or warehousing costs, they can sell books even cheaper than paperback editions — Ravenous Romance, which specializes in erotic fiction, sells e-books for $4.99 each. “That’s the same as a fancy drink at Starbucks,” said Lori Perkins, editorial director. “At that price, who wouldn’t want a book?”

The recession has also meant more business for other purveyors of romance books: public libraries. Robin Bradford, the fiction buyer for the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, said demand for many romance titles had gone way up. She noted, for example, that the list of borrowers waiting for a copy of “Nauti Intentions” by Lora Leigh, a popular romance writer, was now 69 — up from an average of 15 or 20 for previous titles by that author last year.

“People don’t have the discretionary income, especially for authors they are just trying out,” Ms. Bradford said. “It may sound interesting, but they’re not going to go spend $8 on something they may like, whereas before maybe they would have.”

Many readers are still buying. “I would give up something else if money was tight,” said Annmarie Anderson, a district manager in Atlanta for a national retail chain, who said she still spent about $100 on romance novels each month. “I would give up my manicure and pedicure. I have my priority list, and books are pretty high on my priority list.”