Re-E-Books

I stopped doing paper books four years ago, and haven't regretted it for a nanosecond. Regarding economics, it's important to remember authors can leverage a *much* higher royalty than print. And with no paper, postage, shipping, warehousing, etc., even with a high author royalty the publisher *also* makes more than with print.

My world of writing technical books is different from writing something like romance novels, and there are two unique advantages. First, I can update them as technology changes. Aside from keeping books current for years instead of months, this makes it difficult for the "information should be free" folks to keep up. Piracy seems to be minimal, but that may also be because my books are $19.95 regardless of page count or subject. People seem averse to stealing something that inexpensive.

Second, there are ways to encourage ownership. When you buy one of my books, you're entitled to free updates when new versions come out. The ebooks also include supplementary material like audio examples, presets for gear, and the like. Because of the extra material, the books can sometimes run into hundreds of megabytes. I can't see libraries wanting to store all that stuff, they'd probably just go for the PDF. Also, if you own the book, you can mark it up, make notes to yourself, etc.

And of course, eBooks are a whole lot better for the environment.

Craig Anderton
______________________________________

Big user of Libby and kindle unlimited here. So cool to be able to borrow books from different libraries and not have to make the drive:)

Wendy Waldman
______________________________________

So right, Bob. 

Been using Libby since the pandemic. I had been purchasing books digitally on Amazon, but when Covid sequestered us, I was reading 3 books a week and spending a fortune. Then I discovered Libby. I don't even bother with the Kindle. I read everything on my phone with the Kindle app. The vast majority of my friends refuse to go digital. I still love browsing in bookstores. Interestingly, Barnes and Noble just opened in a neighboring town. But I'm not going back. I'm a Libby lover.
Oh, and my aging eyes can read endlessly with digital. 

Vicky Germaise
______________________________________

You said it, Bob. Long live Libby. There aren't many things anymore that are good and free and just there to make you happy and make your life better, without any catch. Libby is one of those things though!

Bill Higgins
______________________________________

Libby is fantastic! There is also Kanopy, which we access through our local library. It's a streaming video platform that offers films, television shows, documentaries, etc. The depth of the catalogue of available titles is outstanding. Only a library card is needed for full access.

John Schimmelman
______________________________________

Libby is a god send. 
 
In the DC area, there are reciprocal agreements between different libraries around the region...so you can get the best of a number of libraries. 
 
Libraries are real gifts. 

Dave Wakeman
______________________________________

I LOVE Libby for ebooks and audiobooks. The speed and convenience of browsing and borrowing is unbeatable. 

My wife still swears by hardcopy books – but she gets them from the library. She checks them out by the dozen because our local library has done away with late fees. She'll get the same titles as audiobooks to get through them more quickly (she drives a lot for her job).

More generally, we just love our library as a community resource. I've gone there to work during power outages, I use their printers (cheaper than Staples or owning a printer), we've borrowed their hotspots for travel, I access LinkedIn Learning and the Times through them, on and on. During COVID, I got my elderly aunt – a voracious reader – a Kindle and sent books directly to it using my library account. That capability converted her to ebooks.

CK Barlow
______________________________________

I read Libby on my phone, same as your letters.

Best thing since sliced bread.

And best of all, I'm reading books again . . .

Cheers

Paul Holdom
Aotearoa New Zealand 
______________________________________

I have been taking advantage of getting ebooks for my Kindle from the library for years.  The only ebooks that I buy are Michael Connelly novels since I don't want to wait for them.

Robert Paris
______________________________________

Funny you should mention it. My son goes to BCIT here in Vancouver and he mentioned it to me as he's been using Libby, along with most other students today, since it came out. I love it and just got signed up after I got a library card from my local library this week and wouldn't you know it, here's your take on it.

Once again you hit the mark on tech, technology and how everyone should at least be aware of what there missing out on. 

I, like you, am a little long in the tooth and it's nice to know I'm not the only one who is excited for what comes next. 

Mike from Mission
______________________________________

Love this, Bob. 

I was THE physical guy. From books and magazines to pen and notebooks. The first shift for me was the Kindle, but now it's all iPad Mini. Which, I think is the best content device ever created. For ebooks, digital magazine, newspapers, comic books/graphic novels but especially video. You need to add a "paper like" screen protector but once you do, the Apple Pencil and writing experience is brilliant. 

I'm also a huge Libby user. Through my library we also get PressReader which is a ton of newspaper, magazines and more books. It's incredible to have access to to magazine like Variety, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Mojo, Uncut, Classic Rock and countless others. All free. Wild. 

Lastly, every morning, on Amazon under Kindle section, they have daily deals where ebooks can be as low as .99 cents and it's just fun to browse those daily deals as well. 

Keep reading and learning… 

MITCH JOEL
Six Pixels Group
______________________________________

Can't live without access to my e-books. In fact, my library is quite extensive. 

Khila L. Khani, Esq.
______________________________________

Gen Xer here and I've been an audiobook lover for over a decade since my job involves driving, as as much as I love music, some shifts I need more to stimulate my brain. Podcasts are my main thing but audiobooks not far behind. Discovered Libby probably 5-6 years and love it. Sure I may have to wait a while for a popular title, but it's a minor inconvenience for free access we collectively pay for like other public services like fire, police, parks, healthcare(Canadian here). 

Now about the library streaming service Kanopy…..shhhhh!!!! ??

Michael Moniz
______________________________________

I joined the Enoch Pratt Public Library (that's our main library here in Baltimore City) a few months ago, and I'm totally hooked. I haven't read this much in decades.

My preference is Kindle, but if something's available sooner in hardcover, I'll go for it. I just had a two-week e-book loan for Long Island Compromise expire before I could finish it. So to renew, I got back in line for both the e-book and the hardcover. The hardcover came through first, and I'm reading it now.

So guess what? I can now officially attest to this: Kindle is fifty times better.

Rich Madow
Baltimore, MD
______________________________________

I am a recent Libby-ite too, though my preference is audio and some books are available only as text.   

Yes, with Libby you may have to wait for a title (I am currently 14th in line for Peter Wolf's  "Waiting On The Moon" - I started at 73rd a couple weeks ago.  In the meantime I read 7 other books that had little or no wait and would have cost me over $100 on Audible (which is worth keeping for immediate access and titles that are unavailable on Libby).

Also, you can read or listen directly on Libby, you don't need to use Kindle, though you can if you want to.

Love going back to the library again!

Judie Gregg Rosenman
______________________________________

I've been using Libby for years. I love it! And there's Kanopy - library videos. That match all the DVDs they offer. Its interface is not as seamless as Kindle but it's pretty good.

The other great thing is, you can highlight sections of the book or mark them up in your Kindle, and it will save them. Before you return it, you just download all those sections if you want to use them in something – such as having ChatGPT, write an essay for you. :-)

John Parikhal
______________________________________

I love reading and I'm as dedicated a lover of books as you'll find. In fact, every shelf in my house, and there are lots of them) are cram beyond belief with printed matter

But for the past two maybe 2 1/2 years, every book I've read has been on The Kindle or the Kindle app on other devices. Look, the fact that I can enlarge the text, read at night and not have to worry about where I put the book down are compelling arguments. I read plenty of classics, too. Companies like Delphi make brilliant editions of classic authors – complete works of Dickens, less than two bucks, well organized and proofread. The early days of substandard additions of Project Gutenberg are far behind us.

For the record, I'm a boomer and I've never been down on e-books. Why be stupid about it?

Last book finished, all on Kindle:
"London: the Biography" by Peter Ackroyd
Currently reading: "Walden, or, Life in the Woods" by Thoreau
Up next (unless I change my mind): "Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident and the Illusion of Safety" by Eric Schlosser

Happy reading!

David A. Basskin
______________________________________

Libby rules. My experience mirrors yours, re the "long estimated wait", and then much faster actual availability. I agree that perhaps the library rental model needs a royalty tweak but there is NO going back. E-books allow me to bring a MUCH wider diversity of reading materials with me on travels. I used to have to pick 1-2 for size and weight, and like you would get "stuck" with a  dud, because that was the only book I had with me.
*They are positively transformative for guidebooks- Michelin/Lonely Planet, et al.. I can have 2 or 20 on my phone and/or kindle now. And can use the phone for maps and Kindle for guidebooks and content. Just sayin'…
 
I assume (I'm sure) you have used Hoopla as well? The 5 instant d/l's are good for back catalog, or a deeper dive into a rabbit hole if you can't get it right away on Libby. Some of the other A/V content is decent as well, especially if you are chasing foreign series, and don't want to join every Scandinavian or Spanish version of Britbox (ha), but then the 5x limit is terrible if it's a longer series.
 
I didn't realize that we were at the Fanning to Ek tipping point (re publishers), but I should have guessed! My children only wanted d/l's or e-books for HS and College instead of paper. Even though they read paper frequently, they all said "Will I ever read this again? And if so I can get it…" And to be fair, only very few of the many textbooks I kept (from my K-xxx education path) have proven to be evergreen. Well framed!  
 
Do keep up the reading rec's, I'm sure they not your biggest fan favorite, but as you have frequently pointed out - we lack viable and accurate curation (in all media and news). I'm happy to poke at something that someone literate and learned is passionate about, even if we diverge on some authors or genres.
 
Best-
Jonathan Pines
______________________________________

And no silverfish to eat the bookbinding glue! 

Lesley Bracker
______________________________________

Thanks for turning me on to Libby, Bob. You're the greatest!

Alicia Etchison
______________________________________

Hey, thanks Bob! Now instead of 8 weeks wait it'll be 6 months. 

Joseph Lazar


--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25

To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25