" any eBook sold in France must cost the same as its paper versions"

[SameOldStory]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

The best I can recall the post started with me poking fun at ....

I do that all too often.

Thanks for the memory, Salgueiros. My isn't always around when I need it.

[Kali Yuga]

Originally Posted by SameOldStory

Are the libraries more numerous and/or better stocked, in Europe, due to a higher demand brought on by the disinclination to buy high priced books?

I have a feeling the price differential is, well, slightly exaggerated.

E.g. Eat, Pray, Love = $7 new at Amazon, Mange, Prie, Aime is $9 at Amazon.fr.

Originally Posted by SOS

Although I used the library frequently, I would save up $.75 to buy a book every now and then. Compare that to $10 books today.

75¢ in 1960 = $5.50 in 2010 dollars.

In 1960, minimum wage was $1; today it's $7.75. So back then it would take you about 45 minutes of minimum wage work to earn a book; today it's about 80 minutes. That's hardly a major reason to be terrified.

Originally Posted by SOS

The point being that if I were an average child in France, would I be able to buy a book?

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say "yes."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3034726.stm

Originally Posted by SOS

Would I even bother to read if a library wasn't nearby?

You'll be too busy playing computer games to go to a library.

Originally Posted by SOS

Europe appears to be attempting to stop changes to the status quo re. publishers and small book stores. Is this not harmful to the public interests?

It sounds like they are specifically trying to prevent authors from getting royalties slashed by the publishers. This should be something most MR posters can get behind.

Plus, the French are also much more accustomed to government interference like this; in fact, they essentially demand it. Go look up the 2006 student riots in France and you'll see a typical example of that mentality at work.

[SameOldStory]

"I have a feeling the price differential is, well, slightly exaggerated."

"E.g. Eat, Pray, Love = $7 new at Amazon, Mange, Prie, Aime is $9 at Amazon.fr."

Does that $9 include the 19% VATS? Still not too bad. If you buy a lot of books it might add up. It wouldn't for me anyway. I buy few "big sellers".


Although I have a few "old" science fiction books, one of of the oldest that I bought new was "The Ship That Sailed the Time Stream" by G. C. Edmondson. By today’s standards this is no great work of literature. But in 1965 it was a Nebula Award nominee for best novel. The price on the cover is 75 cents.

Taking a quick Google search for amazon "nebula award nominee", I see the name of an author that I have enjoyed before: Robert Silverberg. That book Sailing To Byzantium isgoing for $9.94. That might be a more accurate comparison.

No reason to go on, but you do realize that most people use as a joke and not a real indicator of shock?