E-reader battle build$

This one could be a real page-turner for book fans: a price war among e-readers.

Amazon, looking to maintain its market share, cut the price of its Kindle by $70 to $189 — just a few hours after rival Barnes & Noble dropped the price of its Nook by $60 to $199.

B&N also rolled out a $149 Wi-Fi version of the Nook, which will be available at some of its stores and at Best Buy later this month.

The moves weighed on shares of both companies — as Amazon fell 2.6 percent to $122.55, while B&N fell 3.2 percent to $16.53.

The early leader in the small but growing market for portable reading devices, Amazon is facing growing competition with Apple’s iPad, Sony’s Reader and an array of other handheld tables and mobile devices.

The popularity of the iPad, which starts at $499 and is closer to a full-fledged computer, has put even more pressure on e-reader makers to cut their prices to stay competitive.