Amid the dispute between Amazon and Hachette Book Group, thriller writer Lee Child joked that he did not care how the stories reached his readers.

The author of the popular Jack Reacher series said it did not matter if his stories were read on paperback or in a screen, as long as it was read.

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The writer jokingly added that Scarlett Johansson can be employed by publishing houses to whisper the stories to the ears of his readers.

Child's suggestion came as a response to his publisher's continuing feud with Amazon, which demanded that e-books were to be sold at a cheap price.

When asked whether he was a Luddite or against modern technology, he responded: "I don't care how [the book] is delivered. They can hire Scarlett Johansson to go round and whisper it in your ear. That's fine for me as long as you hear my story."

Child, along with over 900 authors, created the Authors Group, who began a signature campaign and posted it in the New York Times.

The group demanded the e-commerce giant to stop impeding the sales of their books.

In an interview in BBC's Newsnight program, Child said he was not really anti-Amazon. In fact, he revealed that he has friends working for the company.

However, he added that what they're fighting for is the fair sale of their books.

Amazon is urging Hachette to lessen the e-book price from $12.99 or S$14.99 to US$9.99, saying that e-books need to be inexpensive to drive more sales.

 When the publisher did not agree to these terms, Amazon decided to stop all pre-orders of paperbacks of Hachette books, extended delivery time, and removed the discounts for some orders.

Customers are being deprived of what they want, the author said.

He also added that people go to Amazon to buy books, and because of the dispute, the books are not delivered.

The author also responded to Amazon's statement that less expensive books would increase the sales and said it was "very disingenuous" and showed how the company is sales-oriented.

 "Books cannot get any cheaper than they are now - it's not really feasible to make them any cheaper," Child said.

TagsAmazon, Hachette, Dispute, lee child, scarlett johansson