So I'm rather new to this whole ebook thing but very enthusiastic about it since I'm a regular traveller and a compulsive reader it's a perfect way to drag my collection of books around without requiring a sizable portable library. I've been more or less capable of accepting most of the things I've seen in this growing industry, even though some of them aren't ideal, but today I ran into something that left even my usual cynical self truly amazed.
I was looking around online for some of my favorite books in ebook format and was at this webpage:
Overdrive Search, when I noticed the helpful little box detailing the legal restrictions of the adobe drm. For those who couldn't be bothered to go to the link it says the following:
Digital Rights:
Adobe EPUB eBook Rights
Copying not allowed
Printing not allowed
Lending not allowed
Reading aloud not allowed
I have never in my life seen a list that progressed so quickly to the truly surreal ridiculousness of the last item on this one. I'm sorry, is it really true that if I purchase this book I have not purchased the right to read it aloud? Even to myself? If I read it to my nephew are the though police going to be on their way round to pay me a visit? I could go on but it's really not worth it, right now I just feel like sitting in my house and waiting for them to cut off the oxygen because I shared some of it with my neighbor, or perhaps they can cut off the sunlight since I had the temerity to enjoy it with a friend.
Somebody please tell me that website is wrong before I despair of ever glimpsing even a semi-rational world.
Thank you for listening.