When is buying a book not actually buying a book?

You may think this is a trick question but it’s not really. The answer is, of course, when you rent it.

Rent a book? Are you crazy?

Well, yes and no. I mean, one can go into a library and borrow a book – but that’s not really the same as renting it as, unless you are late returning it, you don’t pay to do this.

For renting, however, you must pay.

But, I hear you ask, why the hell would you only rent it? Books aren’t like cars or something, they don’t cost a lot of money anyway.

Which is true. However, in this case, it’s all to do with public perception.

Ebooks can be downloaded on your tablet or Kindle and read. But, if you buy them from Amazon (or from anywhere else where they are DRM protected) you are, in fact, not buying them at all but only renting them – and only for as long as the retailer will allow you to rent it.

So, you pay for a ‘book’ that you don’t, in fact, own. Seems stupid, doesn’t it?

Well, yes, to me it seems beyond stupid.

But, reading all about this woman’s experience has made me decide two things:

1. I won’t be buying a Kindle or ebooks.
2. I think I’ll stop using Amazon all together!

I have, in the past, bought quite a lot of stuff from Amazon.co.uk but now I won’t be doing that.

In any event, I really do like proper books made of paper and also Amazon treat the writers/publishers like shit too. It seems they don’t reserve their shitiness only for their customers.

Ah well, that’ll be another customer lost then.