Comments

1

I've wanted this for a long time and will immediately sign up.

The problem with the "government-run" services (or libraries) is they often don't have that many e-books, but worse, they make the check out periods exceptionally short, like 2 weeks sometimes. I'm not a slow reader -- but I like to read in bursts, then cogitate, and also have to have 10 or even 20 books open at once and skip around.

2
Similar to @1:

I have dissociative disorder and "real things" like paper books don't seem to exist for me in a reality based on my perception, so they are often lost, damaged, forgotten, or are simply psychologically clunky and therefore uninteresting. My Kindle is a blessing: digital ephemera is more "real" to me than physical things. I just have to mentally keep track of ONE PHYSICAL THING that does many things but is cheaper than an iPad and gives me less eyestrain than my phone. You have no idea how much easier that is for me. I read again! It calms my anxiety! It makes a qualitative difference in my health and life.

I don't go to libraries anymore unless it's for in ambiance, and I don't check things out because I will end up incurring steep fines and depriving other people of awesome books and wasting taxpayer money. I'd rather pay ten bucks a month and not keep everything than buy a ton of books that I can't afford.

TL;DR: libraries don't work for everyone. If 120 bucks is the price of even limited literacy and if I can even barely afford it, I'll take it. Because reading.
3
(Also part of that rant: assuming that someone can physically get to a library or has access to a computer even if there are library book delivery services is pretty damn ableist. There are many physical and mental disabilities that could prevent that. So reading.)
4
You should find a new hobby Paul.
5
Seems like it will make reading more available to the masses. Should publishers be reaping large e-book profits?
6
Yeah, but you have to actually walk into a library to initially sign up to get your card to access their online books. That is INTOLERABLE!
7
@2, 3: I have missed you in the comment stream. Interesting observations.
8
"(I still don't understand the appeal of these services, when there are government-run, free book subscription services available almost everywhere in the country, but apparently some people like paying ten bucks a month to read a limited supply of e-books.)"

Because it is easier and more convenient.
9
because library ebooks are so popular in Seattle that it's much harder to move up the holds list for an ebook than it is for a print book. if this means that i can read any ebook in their lending catalog without the (publisher-imposed) artificial scarcity of the library ebooks, they can shut up and take my money.
10
@1 Clearly, I don't have the staggering breadth of knowledge regarding electronic format books from any all libraries that you do*, but as we both live in the KCLS service area, we could talk about it's specifics that are somewhat contrary to your point.

kcls.org/downloads/ (21 days, 68,767 items)

You could make a compelling argument based on immediacy, especially with new and popular titles and lending limitations, or the lack of renewals and the same, but it looks like you're fucking with a strawman, Dorthy.

* I am guessing that this is because I have never shoved my head up your ass, depriving me of both your distinct viewpoint and firsthand knowledge of where said information was likely produced.
11
Regarding the SPL ebooks:
-There are no fines-- when your three-week lending period is up, it automatically disappears from your library account. If you want to keep reading it, turn your Kindle's wifi off, and it won't disappear off of there until you turn it back on.
-SPL is spending a LOT of money on ebooks this year, I want to say well into six figures, because we're the most ebook-loving library system in the country (or close to it).

If you can't read or don't like to read but do want to ingest material, SPL also has downloadable audiobooks that you can listen to via the Overdrive app.

Oyster was supposed to be the next hot-shit ebook service, but it didn't have the newest best-sellers available. Yeah, I'm hold #105 of 804 holds on 165 ebook copies of The Goldfinch, but that's still closer to reading it than if I'm trying to get it through Oyster, which doesn't have it at all. Oyster's titles are consistently about a year behind the times, so you can either pay to read Beautiful Ruins through Oyster or just get it for free via SPL.

If Amazon sets up an ebook service where people can read the current bestsellers, I'll worry. Until then, library ebooks seem to be a better choice, as they're both free and come with many locations staffed with people trainied to use and troubleshoot the Overdrive program.
12
That's more than I pay for Netflix. Which is strange, right? Take a look at the two models:

One person can sit down and spend a few months writing a book. Then maybe add another two people for a few months editing it and marketing it. And then I rent it through the Amazon service and read it for a month.

Compare that to Netflix. Someone sits down and spends a few months writing a storyline. A director reads it, gets a producer to find financing for it, and a cast of hundreds spend a few months making this movie. Then maybe 10 other groups of people do the same thing to satisfy my viewing needs for the month.

And the book thing costs more?!
13
@12: Netflix streaming has zero of the most recent releases. You would be paying a shit ton more if it did.
14
@13 Sure. But I assumed the same would be true for Amazon.
15
Uh, isn't the Kindle edition of books already a long term lease program?

Read the fine print.

Witness their history of removing or amending Kindle versions of books on their servers, on "your bookshelf."

It sounds like Bezos wants to see if clever verbiage and marketing can increase the frequency of payments for this virtual property by playing on customers existing acceptance of the model used by Amazon's biggest competitor, namely LIBRARIES.
16
@12

Great novels are rarely written in a few months, try years.

And, while some of the best scenes in a few, great movies may have been conceived and born from mind to film in such short durations, most of the memorable films languished for years through numerous rewrites and edits before they ended up in your Netflix list.

You show a gross lack of appreciation for writers, for the creative process in general.

Stick with what you know, kid.
17
@14: Not sure why you would assume that.
18
I download all the e-books I want from torrent sites, and once I have them they are mine forever. Fuck Amazon, right up the ass, and fuck DRM, wherever it exists. I can read them on my laptop or my phone and therefore I don't need anybody's fucking dedicated e-book reader.
19
Geez Louise, you can sign up for a hold on a book looooooooong before the library has it, digitally or otherwise.

Soon as I hear one of my favorite books has a new one in the offing I hit the library online and sign up for a hold.

Months, sometimes, before the thing is released to the library, the library will have a page up on that book.

I just got my hot hands on Elizabeth Warren's bio -- and I signed up for a hold damn late in the process.

Whassmatter with you people that you can't read something else while you're waiting for -- whatever?

As someone uptop noted, Netflix doesn't carry the current DVDs or series (unless their own) until long after they're no longer current. I can't imagine Amazon will dole out the best sellers the moment they're released, either.


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