[theredhairedcrow]

As a book reviewer, I receive a lot of free books, and have the message on my site that I will never share what I receive free with anyone else for any reason: and I do not. If I really like a book and think of someone I know who will enjoy it, I buy a copy for them or gift it for the same affect. The books I have provided to me free for review, I keep them the length of time it takes to review and then delete them. I have software on my PC that allows me to read several different formats, so the not being able to delete them from the reader device isn't applicable.

As an author, certainly I would prefer someone not "share" my books with others unless it is a part of the application or their ap's plan. I work both a full and part time job to help ends meet as a single parent, while still writing, which I consider my foremost pleasure. And no, authors who understand the realities of the industry don't believe they are going to get rich from their writing. I realize people do share with others and even illegally upload the books as files other people they don't even know can access. That's just part of it. I can't do anything about it any more than anyone else, and I don't let it bother me.

I prefer to look at it and hope that someone might read that story and be interested enough to actually buy my others, but to be honest, a number of people will never do so. They only just want free stuff and see no real issue with illegally gaining books that way, or they rationalize it. In any case, if part of a plan like Amazon Kindle's were you can lend it, well, why not. If you wish to share otherwise, I say buy the person you wish to share with a copy.