[Exer]

We have 2 sets of HP in hardback in my house, as well as a soft cover set, so I didn't feel all that bad when I went looking for a set to throw onto my Kindle.

Funny thing about that, I had taken my brother to the last Harry Potter movie. It was a midnight premiere so we arrived 4 hours early. We had a PSP (portable game system, for those who might not know) and my Kindle with me. While I was sitting against a wall quickly paging through the first half of the ebook so I could compare it to the movie version, people kept walking up and asking what I was reading.

I didn't even think twice before admitting it was an HP novel. It really just didn't cross my mind that there might be people in that crowd of die-hard HP and Rowling fans that might take offense to the fact I had electronic copies of the book ...

Turns out that nobody put up a fuss at all, but quite a crowd gathered around me when I turned on the TTS. I probably could have sold a handful of Kindles that night.

I just find it funny how casually I admitted to having something that isn't technically legal. Maybe it is because it was the first time I had put anything like that on my Kindle ... or maybe in my mind I just didn't consider it illegal, but I know I wouldn't be quite so quick to admit if I was driving a stolen car, or wearing a stolen Rolex, etc.

Perhaps after so many years of living with digital content it just feels almost natural to pick and grab whatever we want. I pay for my books, music, movies, etc ... but I go scouring the net for interesting desktop wallpapers all the time, do I ever think of that as stealing? No ... even though I know the content isn't mine and sometimes isn't supposed to be used as a wallpaper. I forward around article clippings and photo emails, even though I don't know the original creator and don't know if that person thinks of that work as being stolen ...

I think we do things like this without even thinking about it most of the time. Although some of the choices are a much more deliberate action.