Have we fallen out of love with celebrity books?

It has been difficult to walk into a bookshop for the last few years without being confronted by rows of glossy portraits of the latest famous face to hit the autobiography market.

In boom times the lust for luxury drew millions of readers to the Cinderella stories of Jade Goody, Katie Price, David Beckham and hundreds of other rags-to-riches celebrities.

But as recession grips the country, it seems readers and publishers are turning away from celebrity stories of fame and success.

Waterstone's owner HMV yesterday released figures showing that while the book market is shrinking, the market for celebrity autobiographies is shrinking even more.

An HMV spokesman said like-for-like sales were down 4.5pc in the last 16 weeks of the financial year, sliding further from 3.8pc over the last 12 months, and that the book market as a whole had contracted by 4pc.

Children's books and fiction have been least affected by the downturn, while celebrity biographies have been worst affected, with travel books dropping slightly.

It is perhaps easy to see why travel guides are less sought-after - in the recession, we're all meant to be staying put and holidaying here rather than jetting off for expensive continental breaks - but the downturn has not yet stopped celebrities turning up on our television screens. So why aren't we buying their stories?

It's no secret that bookshops have been suffering for some time. Supermarkets are getting into the market, selling thrillers, romances and celebrity stories at minimum prices, while online retailers are undercutting the high street on cost and convenience.

A copy of Katie Price's autobiography Being Jordan costs just 1p from Amazon, 68p from Abebooks, or £1.68 from Alibris - all cheaper than buying on the high street even when postage is taken into account.

New copies cost £3 from Amazon and £4.99 from Play - and Waterstone's own online price of £5.59 is £2.40 cheaper than the store price of £7.99.

Internet sales will continue to threaten high street stores, but other technological advances may prove even deadlier to the print market.

Handheld devices that can store whole libraries to be accessed immediately - known as ebook readers - are now a reality, and we could soon be seeing online book retailers selling new novels for a fraction of the cost of the printed version.

Waterstone's store in Castle Meadow in Norwich now has a concession stand for the Nintendo DS, a handheld games console whose manufacturers have teamed up with publishers Harper & Collins to provide a selection of classic novels that can be read on its screen.

But despite the challenges of new technology and the difficult retail market, some corners of the book market remain unchanged - second-hand and speciality bookstores such as Tombland Bookshop in Norwich are still quietly making a living away from the tyranny of the three-for-two table.

Tombland owner John Freeman believes the trend away from celebrity books is an example of a group of consumers changing their spending habits rather than their reading habits.

With the economy forcing everyone to cut down on disposable luxuries, it may be that rather than rejecting celebrity novels for their content, people simply want more value for money.

Jarrold bookbuyer Mike Butler said: "Publishers are looking for celebrities who have done something tangible, to try to get a better return on their investment in the author. They're not just throwing silly money around."

Mr Butler added that plenty of big names were still bringing out books about their success - Jade Goody's autobiography Forever In My Heart is number three on The Bookseller's weekly bestseller list, and Peter Kay, Carol Vorderman, Leona Lewis and Ant and Dec are just some of the celebrities whose faces will be gracing the shelves in the next six months.

Chris Rushby, buying director at Norfolk-based wholesalers Bertram Books, said: "Celebrity biographies are still big sellers - in 2008 these sorts of books sold 44.5 million copies - but there are too many on the market.

"Publishers are starting to rein it in slightly - they are commissioned a year in advance or more, so this time next year there may be far fewer around."

For Norwich-based book designers Ben Cracknell Studios, who have created covers and designed text for celebrity biographies from jockey Monty Roberts to John Prescott, this sort of work has almost dried up.

Designer Ruth Rudd said: "We're still getting requests for redesigns to make hardcover books into smaller paperback formats, but that's very routine. We've not had any new biographies in months, and there seem to be fewer on the supermarket shelves as well."

But with hundreds of celebrities waiting in the wings for their chance to shine on the shelves, this may simply be a move towards prudent investment and not a readers' revolution after all.