Comments on: Kindlephiles vs. Bibliophiles

By: Mercer

Mercer — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:58:19 +0000

” but I am perplexed as to why people will shell out $259 dollars for an item and then refuse to spend money to load books into it.”

There are a lot of old book titles available for free or low cost so why spend $15 for a new title.

By: MattSwartz

MattSwartz — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:49:57 +0000

But you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube; the market for e-books will continue to grow, and the chain book retailers will continue to fail. (How soon before Borders is gone?) Physical books are not going away, now or ever, but the economics of publishing are changing radically, and attempts to shore up yesteryear’s paradigm will do more harm than good.

Since I live in a medium-sized city with a great university library, tons of used book stores, and internet access, my only motivations for paying retail for new books are guilt and fear. I truly feel that I owe Barnes & Noble a little something for all of the time I spend in their coffeeshop browsing their magazines, and I’d hate to see them go under the way the independent shop (which I supported in the same manner) did.

E-books don’t satisfy those motivations whatsoever, and I spend enough time reading words from screens already.

By: Clark Stooksbury

Clark Stooksbury — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:29:20 +0000

Even at $13 to $15 a pop for books, a Kindle, could still pay for itself pretty quickly if you look at it that way, and I bet you are right about the changes coming in the book business even if e-books never become more than a niche product.
But these people who are going to boycott Macmillan because of this dispute are more into their gadget than the words it contains.

By: Daniel McCarthy

Daniel McCarthy — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:46:13 +0000

“If the books are worth so little, then why spend so much to read them?” Well, if the average hardcover retails for $20 (which it doesn’t — these days it seems to be closer to $30), a $259 Kindle would pay for itself after 26 purchases. And would you pay $30 extra, or whatever the airlines are charging these days, to bring more books with you on vacation? With a Kindle, you can bring more without paying extra and save yourself the inconvenience of lugging around the additional bulk.

Publishing companies like Macmillan are now making exactly the same mistake the record companies made — they’re trying to compel consumers to use old distribution channels and revenue models. But you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube; the market for e-books will continue to grow, and the chain book retailers will continue to fail. (How soon before Borders is gone?) Physical books are not going away, now or ever, but the economics of publishing are changing radically, and attempts to shore up yesteryear’s paradigm will do more harm than good.