[kiwipippa]

Geographic restrictions are a major bug bear of mine here downunder in New Zealand. Since I started ereading, it has slowly got worse with more and more retailers closing their doors to us - especially UK retailers. WH Smith and Waterstones being the two that were my main source.

And for me the really annoying thing is that I can buy a paperback copy of the book through a UK retailer (bookdepository.co.uk) and have it shipped here free of charge, but not the ebook. It's just completely nonsensical.

I'm not sure I agree with the OP about authors driving this. That may traditionally have been the case, but in my opinion, the blame lies fairly and squarely with the publishers - most authors have just gone along for the ride as the model transitions to the internet. I hope more pull away from publishers and go direct, but I can't see that happening to mainstream authors anytime soon.