From: Jed Rothwell writes,
> The pricing is confusing, but anyway, I suppose that people who read many > books may soon recoup the $360 cost of the gadget. Not if they use the library, of course. For example, I read ... err... well I check out from various libraries over 200 books per year (most returned partially read) and will buy maybe 10 - often, after I have already read the free one. Anyway my library, and many others with good electronic networks, have had ebooks available for checkout for a long while. Many rare titles are available this way. There can be a cost associated with this, but most titles are free. Here is a webpage for the main system, but there are other online digital systems available systems for free distribution of ebooks, as well. Most 'trendy' titles are not found online. http://califa.lib.overdrive.com/F75B0AD9-A8B0-445D-A0F7-81DAAA226A07/10/246/en/Default.htm This kind of thing might throw a wrench into Amazon's plans to make big$$ but most of us look at the novel (or even music) as an entertainment service - and want to "tip" when appropriate. The author can (in theory) actually make more this way than paper publishing, but the consumer is not yet accustomed to the process. In 2000, Steven King published a serialized novel, "The Plant" over the web, bypassing paper publication. At first it was presumed that he had abandoned cpntinuation of the project because of little remuneration, but he later stated that he had simply "run out of stories." Too bad. Most fiction writers, I believe, would prefer to get a dollar per novel from 10 million readers than $10 from one million - just from the exposure and for the advantage of accumulating a large fan base. Hard to properly value 'goodwill' ... Jones
