Personally, I blame you.

$9.99 for an e-book is an outrage. A flat out crime. There is a lot of talk in the media of how publishers are pulling away from the internet behemoth (AKA: Amazon) in favor of the sales model Apple is offering. And why wouldn’t they? After all, everyone knows that Apple corp. is the Mecca of user friendly prices and consumer driven affordability. In fact, their new tablet generated more buzz then the tablet Moses introduced. Even though Moses’ tablet was wireless and buttonless, and even came with its own set detailed instructions, it didn’t generate this much noise. Never mind that the instructions were supposed to be handed down from a higher power.
PFFT.
Apple’s [tablet] comes from a way, way higher authority. The Immortal omnipresence of Steve Jobs. Moreover, it has an app store. Take that, burning bushes.

But I digress.

Instead of letting the market dictate the price of an electronic reproduction (which in reality costs close to nothing to digitize) they are pulling away and opting for the pricier sales model? Perfect.

Way to alienate readers. Great work guys.

That has about as much brains behind it as the recording industry and their struggle to keep CD’s alive. Holding on to the old ways is only chasing away the customers who want information now, and accessible. It’s simple. I’d rather sell 30000 copies of something at $6.99 then 8000 at $14.99. A broader audience is reached, which creates talk and talk beckons more sales. I’m not even going to get into the illegal downloading that is heading our way.

I’m not an e-book reader, having a strong preference for the feel and smell of paper when I read, but I do know more and more people are. The price of things should go down (and not up) to keep customers coming back. If my book comes out as an e-book, I’d want it to be a cheap as humanly possible. I’d rather have people clicking and downloading instead of thinking “gosh, I don’t know if I wanna spend $14.99 for a writer I don’t know.” But people will go out, and buy it, and support the few books that already have an audience, while torpedoing the entire next generation of authors and their books.

A Kindle? For me? You shouldn't have... Really. Don't

I love tech, I make a living with it after all, but some things I feel are best left alone. I understand the book publishing industry is changing, but the new e-readers seem less like evolution, and more like evolutionary mutation. I enjoy the leafing through pages sensation, the smell of the pages, the binding, the glue...never mind the type! Maybe I'm a thirty-three year old, old soul.
So, I take no shame when I declare that my approach to the kindle is: "Just say no!"
Maybe time will force my hand, but until then, I refuse.
As far as lending books, I also quit. It easier than quitting smoking, and made me feel good to do so, not antsy like my departing nicotine chum.
A few weeks after parting with my paper bound treasures, I could hear my fathers words echoing in my mind: "I'm not sure who's dumber. The person that lends a book, or the one who returns it." Turns out, I was the dumber-er.
I'd like to hear the other side of the argument though? What is the advantage of an e-reader? Especially if you enjoy book sharing.