Kindle 2's audio capabilities

[readingthedark]

Since I'm seeing opposing points of view from people I respect, I figure I'll just rant a little in both directions. I meant to do a rant on how novelists with a book coming out should view bookstores, but that one has ballooned into an article. I swear I could go on about a stale cookie for seventy pages

Comments

[readingthedark]

As I think I mentioned, I bought Buffy because I had the money and figured it would be good to understand how a TV show seemed to spawn a change in publishing. Along the way, I fell head over heels for her and the show. I had posters of the original movie on my wall when we were kids.

Having only seen the first two eps of Firefly, I'll get to it someday. Serenity was neat.

I adore books (and I'm sending you some soon) and have a library beyond belief (partially from obsession and partially because I used to get lots of freebies from working in a bookstore for six years.

I've considered a Kindle because it would be great for certain situations. I love the idea that an out of print book could be downloaded in seconds for a reasonable price. I don't love reading on a screen, but I'm certain that I spend a Kindle's worth on books that are free on the net a year because I'm odd. Or at least I used to be. In the last year, I've finally gotten my book problem under some control.

In terms of piracy, my thing is that the big names that "don't need the money" are supporting people who do. Neil Gaiman may not lose a thing if no one buys him (which is pretty much impossible considering how many channels of notable stuff he has going), but diminishing his income too much might impact the Fabulous Lorraine, Neverwear clothing, BPAL, Lisa Snellings-Clark, anyone working for Merilee Heifetz, whoever's going out with him on tour and hoping to do such a good job that they can get a job at a magazine, etc. But I'm a hypocrite because I also have weird loopholes where I think piracy can be rationalized.

[simi]

My justifications for piracy tend along the line of unknowns who I am introduced to via pirated music. If I like something, chances are I'll search out more of it and purchase it by legitimate means. And with smaller record companies (like Ani DiFranco's back in the day) piracy was the only way to effectively spread the music and create the demand that allowed for more to be available legitimately.

As for used books - I've bought several that while they ARE currently available, I have already purchased a copy (and often several copies). A lot of the books I had in high school have succumbed to unnatural disaster that is my parents' house. I figure the author already got my money for the book at least once (in several cases more than once). In that case it's not so much about what the author can afford as what *I* can afford...

Some day I'll be as wealthy as Elton John and be able to afford to buy three legit compies of everything I like just to support the artists involved. Until then, some pirated and some used material makes its way into my libraries, but hopefully well balanced by all of the stuff I pay full price for!

[readingthedark]

My feeling with used books is a bit different. The author, if no one cheated, is paid for the first sale, at which point I think people should be able to do whatever they want with the physical object that they have purchased. Further, I'd hate to think that I was morally obligated to throw books into the trash when I finished them. (You'll see that some of the books I'm sending you are ARCs and strips. With those, I feel like it's wrong to sell them -- but I don't want to toss them if I can help it.)

There are artists where I buy multiple copies. I could pretend that they are "investments" because I certainly sell books on occasion, but I confess that it is more honest to admit that I am obsessed enough with books that multiple copies are a security blanket to protect me from reality.

[simi]

*grin* I've lost track of how many copies of Dead Until Dark I've purchased...