Maureen Johnson: IN WHICH I ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN WHAT IS GOING ON WITH EBOOKS →

maureenjohnsonbooks:

I shouldn’t be writing this post, and yet, here I am, writing this post. Why? Because I can’t stop myself, that’s why. I’m unstoppable!

I am, very foolishly, going to try to explain the ebook debacle AS I UNDERSTAND IT. I do this with the full knowledge that I may get a minor (or major) point…

I still wish someone, anyone, would just start packaging ebooks with hardcovers. If I buy a physical book from B&N, which they track via my membership, why then can’t I get a free, or even discounted, ebook of that same book? Yes, I have a nook, but my wife doesn’t, and she prefers physical books. This causes all kinds of shuffling and swapping between us. And when we go shopping, it ultimately comes down to who wanted the book more to decide on which format we buy it in.

We, as consumers, have the legal right to make copies of content we purchase, for personal use. I copy the physical music I buy, (yes, I still buy cds), to my computer, and onto my wife’s and my own ipod. Totally legal. But, you can’t copy a book without first physically destroying it. (And wasting hours scanning and formatting.) This is the single most annoying issue I still have with the crazy physical vs ebook debate. I don’t have the money, or even the desire, to purchase a great novel twice, just so I can have it in a new format.

1 year ago  /  297 notes  /  Source: maureenjohnsonbooks