I am an e-book convert. Admittedly, I like techie-toys even though I fry them as fast as I buy them, but I'm also a fast reader and go through paperbacks faster than paper towels. I buy a LOT of books. And the e-reader saves me from collecting them in a closet until I can figure out what to do with them. It also lets me keep track of what I've read and what I like.
So my rant today isn't about e-books or readers, but about publishers clinging to the past. I know, I know, I've done this before, but I'm seriously annoyed every time I sit down with my book-buying list and realize half of it can't be bought electronically for a discount. The only conceivable reason I can see for this is that publishers want to sell paper, not digital. Because if I can't buy an e-book at a discount, I'm forced to find a store that will sell me the print version at a discount. Publishers certainly aren't saving any money by annoying me and other customers like this. I'm pretty sure they sell wholesale at about the same price, print or electronic. The electronic costs them less, so they're making more money on them. But by insisting on full price for digital and then allowing stores to sell print at a discount, they're forcing me to buy paper. And I won't do that until I have an order large enough for free shipping--aha, just figured it out. Paper is counted for bestseller lists and digital isn't. Not helping here because I probably won't order the paper for another month.
Now that I've got that out of my system--is everyone home from RWA yet? Enjoying a lovely, leisurely summer day with a good book? Any recommendations?
