by Zoe Pollock
Tim Spalding shares some harsh words about e-books:
We used to own our books. With most ebooks we own them in name, but effectively we lease them. ... If the Kindle had debuted with an access-based “faucet” model, it would have failed. Consumers would not have traded true ownership for a tethered, metered and monitored product. But we’ll get there soon enough, as each step away from ownership makes the next step more acceptable. Once you realize your Kindle book is not fully yours, you’ll accept it being mostly not yours.
(Hat tip: Alan Jacobs)