No it's all an elaborate conspiracy between publishers and bookstores to increase readership and sell more print books. Publishers know that letting people read books for free actually increases demand and thereby sales of print books. Except most of them (with the exception of
Baen) would never admit it. Why do you not see them going after public libraries?
So long as ebook prices remain insanely high then ebook remain a niche. And the majority of that niche read the 'pirated' version, while also building the buzz (and thereby sales) of the print version. Meanwhile a large percentage of the ones who read the book for free, if they really liked the author, will go on to buy a copy of either that book or another of that authors books. This is building an authors following, and arguably the best method to do that is by letting people read for free. If you instill just the right dose of guilt along with it you ensure a loyal fanbase!
