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Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

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Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#81

Post by blhack »

chubot wrote: post #78
JunkDNA wrote: post #51

Lots of people in this thread are talking about this being scary for authors. When I was a kid, I got to read a ton of books any time I wanted. I got them at this place called a "library" where they let people come in and take books home with them to read for free . People have always had the option to read books without buying them. In those days, going to the library was effectively the same effort as going to a bo…

I'm a regular user of the local library, but I notice that most people in my "class" (i.e. tech people earning a lot) don't go there. It's easier to buy it on your Kindle for $10-$15 than to make a trip to the library. I'm gonna be a jerk and say that most people also like to hang out in expensive coffee shops with other members of their class, and not in the library where there are lots of poor people. It's a little…

A lot of libraries are starting hackerspaces. You should see if you can mentor at one.

I mentor at a program at my library every week, and it's been really awesome.

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#82

Post by gknoy »

munificent wrote: post #61
vowelless wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was OysterBooks: https://www.oysterbooks.com/ It does suck -- in the spirit of competition, I hope they keep on going!

What sucks about it?

I think they meant "It sucks for OysterBooks that Amazon is doing the same thing", rather than "OysterBooks sucks".

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#83

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

dfxm12 wrote: post #76
oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm aware of that (my father had quite an extensive 'wall' of vinyl, and I've had bookshelves of CDs in the past, too) but I don't think music-as-display-item was quite in the same league. It was more for real enthusiasts whereas pretty much everyone displayed books, and for a much longer period of history.

Well, printed books have been around a lot longer than "printed" music, so of course, there was a time when people (who were lucky/rich enough to own books) displayed books because they had nothing else to display. That's not really a fair comparison, nor one that makes sense in this context. I also think you're really underplaying how people enjoy their music collections. I hold on to records for the same reasons yo…

No, I totally understand about music collections. I still buy new albums on CD, despite the fact that I mainly take advantage of Amazon's instant MP3 delivery (autorip?) [1] which means the original CDs might even never get played. I simply cannot shake that sentimental need to own/collect an object that I can associate with that album. I truly think this is unhealthy behaviour, though, one which the human race will overcome, but that I personally probably will not.

I'm guessing [2] you hold onto records not just because of your attachment to the physical object, but also because you get them out and play them from time-to-time. I hold onto countless books that I will almost certainly never read again.

[1] Yes, I'm aware that, in some people's eyes, this makes me the worst kind of philistine, but I'm a music fan, not an audiophile.

[2] With apologies if that's not the real reason you hold onto records :)

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#84

Post by endlessvoid94 »

jobu wrote: post #52
cliveowen wrote: post #28

A few weeks ago Jon Evans of TechCrunch said this: "Despite my techie contempt for their business practices, I really do want traditional publishers to survive, because their employees — unlike, I suspect, Amazon’s — tend to genuinely love books in the same way that I do, and because good editors are worth their weight in gold. But it’s hard to see how they can thrive fighting like this. In the long run their only re…

That's a great quote from Jon Evans, and it fits well with Steve Yegge's perspective on Jeff Bezos: "I mean, imagine what it would be like to start off as an incredibly smart person, arguably a first-class genius, and then somehow wind up in a situation where you have a general’s view of the industry battlefield for ten years. Not only do you have more time than anyone else, and access to more information than anyone…

do you have a link to that quote? i'd like to read more

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#85

Post by laurenbee »

JunkDNA wrote: post #51

Lots of people in this thread are talking about this being scary for authors. When I was a kid, I got to read a ton of books any time I wanted. I got them at this place called a "library" where they let people come in and take books home with them to read for free . People have always had the option to read books without buying them. In those days, going to the library was effectively the same effort as going to a bo…

> Local libraries already lend ebooks as well. I'm not sure why more people don't take advantage of that.

One would think that since ebooks are digital, any number of people could borrow the same book at once from a library. Alas, that is not the case. Just like libraries might only have one or two physical copies of a book, they might only have one or two copies of an ebook available to lend as well. If you want to borrow a new release, you might end up on a lengthy wait list. Additionally, if you borrow from a library, you miss out on a ton of books (especially self-published books).

As a reader, I'm excited about the prospect of Kindle Unlimited. As an author who self-publishes on Amazon, I am apprehensive (though the compensation for my books that have been borrowed with Prime has seemed fair so far).

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#86

Post by toomuchtodo »

blhack wrote: post #81
chubot wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a regular user of the local library, but I notice that most people in my "class" (i.e. tech people earning a lot) don't go there. It's easier to buy it on your Kindle for $10-$15 than to make a trip to the library. I'm gonna be a jerk and say that most people also like to hang out in expensive coffee shops with other members of their class, and not in the library where there are lots of poor people. It's a little…

A lot of libraries are starting hackerspaces. You should see if you can mentor at one. I mentor at a program at my library every week, and it's been really awesome.

I would love to see a national scale project to convert libraries to hackerspaces/coworking spaces.. Digital media should still be available (Kindles, iPads, etc with access to libraries through Amazon for copyright material and Library Of Congress/Internet Archive for public domain material), but its time they evolve.

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#87

Post by debt »

chubot wrote: post #78
JunkDNA wrote: post #51

Lots of people in this thread are talking about this being scary for authors. When I was a kid, I got to read a ton of books any time I wanted. I got them at this place called a "library" where they let people come in and take books home with them to read for free . People have always had the option to read books without buying them. In those days, going to the library was effectively the same effort as going to a bo…

I'm a regular user of the local library, but I notice that most people in my "class" (i.e. tech people earning a lot) don't go there. It's easier to buy it on your Kindle for $10-$15 than to make a trip to the library. I'm gonna be a jerk and say that most people also like to hang out in expensive coffee shops with other members of their class, and not in the library where there are lots of poor people. It's a little…

It's unpopular but I really enjoy reading on my phone. It's small, it's always with me, it's much more convenient than lugging around a physical book(and I love physical books). But that's why I buy ebooks(they're just expensive which sucks).

It's interesting to listen to the cascading excuses when bringing up books with friends. "Why not use a kindle?" "I like holding the physical book." "Oh, then why not go to the library?" "Well, I like owning the book too." "Oh."

I think you're right in that people like the "culture" around reading more than reading itself.

You can save a ton of money using your local library though. I really need to start doing that.

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#88

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

lukeschlather wrote: post #50
HarrietJones wrote: post #44

First they made music a subscription service. And because I like music but I'm a poor struggling author, I didn't listen to those greedy musicians who said this was unfair. Screw you musicians. This Fantasy novel isn't going to get finished unless I can listen to my power-ballad spotify playlist. Then they made video a subscription service. And because I didn't make videos (video being a lesser form of entertainment)…

And oh, if it doesn't make me furious that my local library has the gall, and the temerity to allow people to read it for free .

Libraries are not always easy to get to, have restricted opening hours, often won't have the latest books available, impose fees if you don't return the book within a certain period of time, can only supply a very limited number of copies of each title at one time, and (as pointed out elsewhere) might require you to be a tax-paying local resident. Libraries have been pretty solidly proven not to negatively affect the market in new books for all these, and possibly more, reasons. Kindle Unlimited is a whole other ballgame.

Re: Amazon leaks Kindle Unlimited

#89

Post by bitJericho »

chubot wrote: post #78
JunkDNA wrote: post #51

Lots of people in this thread are talking about this being scary for authors. When I was a kid, I got to read a ton of books any time I wanted. I got them at this place called a "library" where they let people come in and take books home with them to read for free . People have always had the option to read books without buying them. In those days, going to the library was effectively the same effort as going to a bo…

I'm a regular user of the local library, but I notice that most people in my "class" (i.e. tech people earning a lot) don't go there. It's easier to buy it on your Kindle for $10-$15 than to make a trip to the library. I'm gonna be a jerk and say that most people also like to hang out in expensive coffee shops with other members of their class, and not in the library where there are lots of poor people. It's a little…

Wow... I don't know what libraries you go to but libraries are generally not full of poor people...
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