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Escaping from the hectic world to curl up with a good book is one of life's simple pleasures.

But thanks to the popularity of e-readers, it seems that when you settle down to enjoy a novel you're no longer alone.

The digital devices not only track which books you read, but can monitor the passages you dwell on and the time you put your book down at night to go to sleep.

Growth strategy: The information being collected is being used to recommend new books and boost sales to grow the e-book market, according to Michael Tamblyn, of Kobo, which supplies e-readers to WHSmith

Michael Tamblyn, of Kobo, which supplies e-readers to WHSmith, John Lewis and Tesco, said it collects information from users to recommend new books and boost sales. 

'We're synchronising a bookmark constantly as you move along,' he said.

'That gives us insight into how you're engaging in the book that you're in ... so if you have stayed up through the night and you can't put that book down, that helps us find other books from other people who have had that same kind of experience.

'When you think about the number of books people buy and don't finish, the "other people who bought this also bought this [formula]" isn't that good a way to try to recommend a book.'

Amazon's Kindle device also collects information about users' habits, monitoring how long they spend reading as well as remembering the last page they read.

The internet giant – which sells around 60 per cent of all e-books bought in the UK – reserves the right to store the information collected by Kindles on its servers.

Renate Samson, of the privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: 'It is rather alarming to think that whilst you read your e-book your e-reader device is reading you.

'That these products feel the need to monitor more than just what we read, but to actively store data on what page we might linger on or more worryingly what time of day or night we choose to read seems disproportionately intrusive on what is to most of us a moment of personal quiet time.'

Monitoring: Amazon's Kindle device also collects information about users' habits, monitoring how long they spend reading as well as remembering the last page they read

Invasion of privacy: Renate Samson, of the privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: 'It is rather alarming to think that whilst you read your e-book your e-reader device is reading you'

At the moment e-books account for around a fifth of all book sales in the UK, across all age groups. 

Many older readers have adopted the gadgets because they can easily increase the font size, making books easier to read without having to pay for a special large-print edition.

Mr Tamblyn said that it was collecting data to help it increase the e-book market.

'What we're interested in is where does the next 20 per cent come from? We think it will be people who are holding onto print much more tightly than in the past,' he said.