It's a typical question these days for owners of e-book reader. Where should I buy my next book? A simple question, but difficult to answer, so I'm not going to provide the answer. I'm simply going to share my last decision process.
First the situation... I wanted to buy Jerome Bettis' new book
The Bus. I prefer to read on my Sony Reader, but I also like the read on my Palm Treo which has a backlight and is always with me. Paper is my last choice for reading, but has the advantage that I can simply pass on the book when I'm done. This is a book that I want to read, but don't want to keep, and do want to share when I've finished.
So, you say, if you prefer to read it on the Sony Reader, then just buy it at Sony's Connect e-book store. Well, first of all it didn't appear there as quickly as some other places, so that kind of ruled it out as it was sort of a time sensitive thing for me. I was in the mood and didn't want to wait to read it. But even if I did want to wait, I don't have any other people on my Sony Connect account, so the book would be worthless after I finished reading it.
Price was similar whether delivered from Amazon (I'm a Prime member), or Connect, or eReader. I didn't check on a MS Reader or MobiPocket or Adobe Reader version because I haven't recently read with any of them and don't currently have the software on my smart phone for them. I've been meaning to try MobiPocket again now that I have more memory available, but I haven't gotten around to it.
I tried Barnes And Noble's web site (because there is a local store by where I work). Same price. So even though I prefer electronic, I know quite a few people that would enjoy reading the book, so I decided to read it in paper form and pass it around. The good old fashioned way. Well, I walked into Barnes and Noble at lunch the other day and found that the in-store price was about $7 more. Forget that!
Amazon was the next logical choice, but here I got selfish. I just didn't want to wait for delivery, and I wanted to read it on my Treo rather than in paper. So I found a compromise... eReader. I didn't care too much about DRM because I don't care if I can't keep the book permanently for myself. I just wanted to pass it on. I knew I had at least one friend that I could give it to when I was done, even if I had to enter my credit card number on his device to enable it. Unpleasant process, but now I could both read it and share it at least once. Plus I could read on my Treo and get it right away.
Problem solved. But what a nightmare for the average first time prospective e-book purchaser! I think that they will just accept whatever way they discover first.
But what if the next book I want to buy is not a throw away item? What happens 10 years from now to my collection of Sony Connect books and eReader books, and MobiPocket books? They probably get thrown out like the hundreds of cassettes that I got rid of today. It makes you sick to think of the waste.
So for reading, I've come to the conclusion that DRM basically rules out e-books if you want to stay legal. That's pretty sad. And I hate to say it because it's sort of like the deep, dark ugly secret stink about e-books. I want e-book sellers to succeed wildly. I hate to tell the ugly secret out loud. But it's real and it affect you the reader, and we need to acknowledge it.
Doesn't matter, you say? Well, I'm one of the biggest e-book fanatics around, and I'm forced by DRM to buy paper unless it's a book I'm willing to basically "read and trash" in the e-sense of the phrase. I'd say that's like the elephant in the living room of a dysfunctional household that nobody wants to talk about or confront. But if you're a MobileRead reader, you undoubtedly already know that, and yet you love e-books anyway. Good for you!
Still, it's no wonder I'm learning to love the classics again!