Quote:
Originally Posted by carld
The fallacy is that old books are somehow an equal substitute for current literature. Which is what the article seems to claim. Why buy a new book when you can get an old book for free?
Just because a old book is available for free doesn't mean it's going to interest to me personally. I like to read urban fantasy and hard science-fiction. Those either don't exist in classic literature or are so incredibly out of date that they're laughable.
Really the only way free classic literature works is if you already like classic literature.
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I think we're all talking about two different things. There's old and new in the article, which is referring (aside from the mention of PG) to used books versus buying brand new. And then there's the whole contemporary versus classic argument.
I have no problem with used books (well, only insofar as I prefer to read ebooks instead of pbooks), but I don't read many classics because I prefer contemporary fiction. Price doesn't come into play because (for me) they're not substitutable items. The free books on Smashwords also don't appeal to me (though for a different reason) and are also not just cheaper substitutes for contemporary fiction. That opinion will obviously vary from person to person.