on e-books
May. 19th, 2011 05:34 pmI have made my first e-book purchase. Yay?
I've had e-books before, of course – from free sources and giveaways, but I couldn't bring myself to actually buy one. I hardly ever buy books at all these days – library yay! - and when I buy, it is the old-fashioned paperback or trade market. Yet I keep thinking that I should start buying e-books, and then I think what do I want from them. I've always dreamed of having a real library at home (and possibly getting lost there and staying in it forever.) But with our current nomadic lifestyle it is impossible – I have to cull my books regularly and leave only those I couldn't be without, or find people who would love a certain book as much as I did and giving my books to them. So e-books are an attractive option to keep my library with me in my travels.
The two problems are that I don't find them convenient to read – currently, on my iPod or desktop, and don't fully trust them. The first problem can be solved by purchasing a decent e-book reader. But: the cost of it and the books that I'll have to buy to justify the purchase is way more that I want to spend. If I read that many books and that fast – might be. But as now I can manage a book in two weeks, and I have a huge “to read pile” at home already plus a luge list of books I can get for free from the library... If somehow I acquire an ebook reader, than occasional purchase of a e-book would make sense to me. Which I think will happen eventually, just not soon. The second problem... has a lot to do with the pricing and the formats. I understand that from the point of view of the seller, it is basically the same product: the license to read a copyrighted object – a story. But when I buy it I am getting one bunch of rights or another. And I need to weight how much is each bunch is worth to me. In one case I am getting a paper book that I have to carry around to read and keep, that adds weight to my backpack and takes space on the shelf and in the box, but the one I can read anywhere and anyway I like (starting from the end, jumping back and forth). And after I am finished with it, I can re-sell it, or give it away, or just lend it to as many people as I like. With the e-book bunch I get a file that doesn't take much space, and I can store it easily and not think whether I have to get rid of it during our next move. There is also the factor of immediate gratification – I can desire for a book, buy on the spot and start reading it immediately. It doesn't really matter for me at the moment, but it is there. What are the limitations – I can read only in the specific way and using the specific device. I can keep it, but it is always under control of the seller whether I keep it on the server or download to my computer or other reading device. I cannot re-sell it or give away. There are some opportunities to lending e-books – but only some. Which is all a fine bundle of rights – except I don't want it. And I certainly don't want to pay the same price, since I am getting less rights valuable to me. So we are back to the “library yay” paean.
What price am I willing to pay, then? Well, as I wrote before, I've just paid $2.99 for “Ten Thousand Kingdoms” - the promotional sale price only good for May (http://www.orbitebooks.com/). I've read it, and I wanted to have it with me for the future. We'll see how it goes. I bought it here: www.ebooks.com, because they sell in multiple formats, but alas, all of them proprietary, bound on specific devices or software. Still, $3 is the price I can easily pay to risk the inconvenience, even though I understand it is not the price I can find a lot of books for.
There also was an interesting discussion at Jennifer Crusie's blog about the pricing of e-books: http://www.arghink.com/2011/04/22/apparent-value-whats-the-right-price-for-an-e-book/
I've had e-books before, of course – from free sources and giveaways, but I couldn't bring myself to actually buy one. I hardly ever buy books at all these days – library yay! - and when I buy, it is the old-fashioned paperback or trade market. Yet I keep thinking that I should start buying e-books, and then I think what do I want from them. I've always dreamed of having a real library at home (and possibly getting lost there and staying in it forever.) But with our current nomadic lifestyle it is impossible – I have to cull my books regularly and leave only those I couldn't be without, or find people who would love a certain book as much as I did and giving my books to them. So e-books are an attractive option to keep my library with me in my travels.
The two problems are that I don't find them convenient to read – currently, on my iPod or desktop, and don't fully trust them. The first problem can be solved by purchasing a decent e-book reader. But: the cost of it and the books that I'll have to buy to justify the purchase is way more that I want to spend. If I read that many books and that fast – might be. But as now I can manage a book in two weeks, and I have a huge “to read pile” at home already plus a luge list of books I can get for free from the library... If somehow I acquire an ebook reader, than occasional purchase of a e-book would make sense to me. Which I think will happen eventually, just not soon. The second problem... has a lot to do with the pricing and the formats. I understand that from the point of view of the seller, it is basically the same product: the license to read a copyrighted object – a story. But when I buy it I am getting one bunch of rights or another. And I need to weight how much is each bunch is worth to me. In one case I am getting a paper book that I have to carry around to read and keep, that adds weight to my backpack and takes space on the shelf and in the box, but the one I can read anywhere and anyway I like (starting from the end, jumping back and forth). And after I am finished with it, I can re-sell it, or give it away, or just lend it to as many people as I like. With the e-book bunch I get a file that doesn't take much space, and I can store it easily and not think whether I have to get rid of it during our next move. There is also the factor of immediate gratification – I can desire for a book, buy on the spot and start reading it immediately. It doesn't really matter for me at the moment, but it is there. What are the limitations – I can read only in the specific way and using the specific device. I can keep it, but it is always under control of the seller whether I keep it on the server or download to my computer or other reading device. I cannot re-sell it or give away. There are some opportunities to lending e-books – but only some. Which is all a fine bundle of rights – except I don't want it. And I certainly don't want to pay the same price, since I am getting less rights valuable to me. So we are back to the “library yay” paean.
What price am I willing to pay, then? Well, as I wrote before, I've just paid $2.99 for “Ten Thousand Kingdoms” - the promotional sale price only good for May (http://www.orbitebooks.com/). I've read it, and I wanted to have it with me for the future. We'll see how it goes. I bought it here: www.ebooks.com, because they sell in multiple formats, but alas, all of them proprietary, bound on specific devices or software. Still, $3 is the price I can easily pay to risk the inconvenience, even though I understand it is not the price I can find a lot of books for.
There also was an interesting discussion at Jennifer Crusie's blog about the pricing of e-books: http://www.arghink.com/2011/04/22/apparent-value-whats-the-right-price-for-an-e-book/