[zelda_pinwheel]

actually Harry, i *do* expect a book to last me a lifetime. i have many books from well over 20 years ago (including some paperbacks, which i've either bought new and kept, or bought used and "pre-aged" so to speak, and even including some Agatha Christies ; yes, i do re-read mysteries). some of them are even books which my parents originally bought, a few of them were bought before i was born. i still re-read them, and although many of them are not in perfect condition they are all still readily accessible. paper books DO and SHOULD last a lifetime, even paperbacks, if you are reasonably careful with them (all bets are off if you like to read in the bath).

if i pay for a book, it should be mine to enjoy as long as i choose, *regardless* of the price, and *regardless* of the medium. i don't consider it a legitimate excuse for DRM to render a book obsolete, obliging us to buy the same books several times, to say that it doesn't matter, since no normal person would want to re-read a book that many times anyway, or keep it so far into the future. especially since, all practicality aside, for me it's a question of *principle*.

if i think i will only want to read a book once, i get it at the library, and then give it back when i am done.

(also : my god, coffee must be really expensive in the UK. at my local cafés, 1.20€ is about the average price. if i could find e-books at that price, i would certainly not hesitate to buy them, but so far i haven't seen many...)

EDIT : in response to your last post... maybe it doesn't matter, if you have a large disposable income, but not everyone does, and i try to keep my "frivolous" or "luxury" spending to a minimum. i get REALLY annoyed if i buy something, only to discover that for arbitrary reasons i will be forced to buy THE SAME THING AGAIN in a few years time, particularly if we are talking about something completely non-mechanical, with no moving parts to break.