It's a sad day when someone sets the value of a medium by the number of titles you can consume in a day.
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Amazon Officially Announces 'Kindle Unlimited' E-book and Audiobook Subscription Service
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It's a sad day when someone sets the value of a medium by the number of titles you can consume in a day.
Regarding libraries vs Amazon: how is this up for discussion? Why do people buy books? Why don't students check out textbooks from their university's library every 2 weeks and never pay for their own textbooks? My point is that each person has their own preference; plenty of others prefer to get their ebooks from sources other than the library for various reasons.
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Nah, most of my licenses allows me to use it on either Windows or Mac. My Steam games are all multi platform, so that if I decided I hated Mac and loved windows, I'm still good same with my Kindle books. There's a windows, mac, iOS and android client.
With iBooks, I'm stuck with Apple and only Apple. Not even a windows client or an android client.
The Library maybe "FREE" but for most people commuting back and forth to the library is not.
If I read 4 books a month that would be 4 trips to the library. The library closest to me is a good 20 minute drive about 8 miles. 16 mile round trip 4 times a month is 64 miles. My car gets 20mpg so that is just over 3 gallons of gas. 3 X 3.40 = $10.20. Sorry the library is more expensive then Amazon.
In theory, yes. In practical use, libraries usually only have a few eBook copies at best of a title. Usually all the bestsellers are either checked out or on reserve for months after release.
Honestly, if libraries are going to compete and stay relevant they need to rethink distribution and staffing. They need to put more money into eBooks, less into storing paper. It's really not possible because of the politics, but what cities really need to do is maintain a few "old school" research libraries in various quadrants, and sell off the rest. They can then lease smaller locations, with maybe a couple staffers, as "study branches" where residents can get free computer access, meet for study groups, etc, or study alone, but which are 100% paper book free.
It's up for discussion because people who use the library won't be paying Amazon $120 per year for no benefit.
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So, you're saying you never pass this library on the way home from work, or when running errands, and your library won't let you take out more than one book at a time? And you're also saying that your library won't let you check out ebooks online?
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Is there something wrong with a paper book? They still work fine for me. I virtually never buy them, but I have no issue with library paper books.
With the layout on the site, I always have problems finding a good ebook on Amazon (large amount of books and limited amount that can be displayed at once). I much prefer a bookstore for deciding on a book (I can easily browse many books quickly).
Sure you do. My wife is a MLIS librarian at our local library. We both read a lot (10+ books a month between us.) If there's anything we've found people hostile to ebooks have in common it's that they don't really read. Sure, there's a few out there that actually do read, usually the book snobs who judge others for not reading the right kind of books and spend most of their time feeling smug, but those are few and far between (fortunately.)
I don't see the relevance of your comment. I'm not hostile to ebooks. I'm hostile to paying $120 per year for nothing.
"No benefit" is highly subjective, and is also the crux of my point. Just because _you_ find it to be of no benefit, doesn't mean others think the same way.
No, it's not free. You pay a tax for it. Whether or not you use it doesn't change the fact that you pay for it (forced or not).
Now, which is a better deal...that depends on what your local library offers.
Semantics. Everyone pays the tax, including the people who pay Amazon $120 per year. So compared to paying Amazon, the library is FREE.
So using your logic is eating out at a nice restaraunt essentially just paying for expensive poop? If this service gives people access to titles they want, in the format they want them in, when they want them, then who are you to tell them they are wasting their $$$? Personally I've looked at the selection, and there's nothing there that interests me (the titles I've heard of I've already read), so it's not the deal for me, but others may find value in it.
No, it's still not free for you (unless your library is completely privately funded; even then, you have to pay for gas to get there or a bus fare or the food that powers your legs to bike or work). You don't see the costs directly but "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch." Yes, I got nit-picky but the point is that there are costs associated with the library whether you use it or not. If you do use it, it is relatively less expensive for you than if you don't because you pay taxes either way. That's the reason libraries almost always limit access to books/media to those with a library card (requiring you to live within the boundaries of the library service area - typically a county or a city). They do that because you/your parents/your guardian/your landlord/etc. pays taxes that are earmarked for library support.
For example, my local public library is funded mostly through property taxes. For my property tax rate, it works out to around $20 / month that I pay to support the library (the last time I calculated it a few years ago). Now, there are very few people who do not pay property taxes in some way (unless they are dependents). So no, libraries are not free, their costs are merely obscured and indirect.
That's absurd. Applications are specifically designed and coded for certain platforms whereas books aren't written to be platform-bound.
While I agree with you in one sense, I believe what the original poster is trying to convey is that each of those titles, book or movie or TV, have an author actor or director etc., that is making their living and needs to sell their product.
So, in one day I can consume the work of many more people via TV than I can via a book for less. So I'm getting a better deal with Netflix than I am with Amazon. Think of it more as the work people put in rather than the medium itself.
Now, personally, I'm quite happy with the books and audiobooks I can get for free from my library. And via Overdrive app right on my device, no need to drive to the library (tho I still love paper books much much more than ebooks) And I can get many more audiobooks in one month than Audibles 1-per-month limit.
I too took a look and at the risk of foolishly comparing this to Netflix, I don't see a handful of titles I had planned to read. On the other hand, there are still a great deal of titles available for the price of what I would likely pay per book from the Kindle store.
I think you missed the point or you got it backwards. His point was that if your preferred method of reading is iBooks because it delivers a better experience then what would you do if you switched away from Apple? Your purchases would be useless. It has nothing to do with going from Windows to Mac because all of my Kindle content is available on most all devices that I own. I don't have to worry about my iBooks going away.
We get it. We all get it. You go to the library, congratulations.
Why are you hostile? Who is forcing you to pay for anything (or nothing)? Not a soul. You go to the "free" library so keep on keepin' on man.
Probably a big overlap but the Kindle Lending Library only allows 1 checkout per month (and only 1 at a time).
Because none of the several libraries near me have close to 600,000 books, and most of the ones they do have are old donated nonfiction (see Y2K For Dummies) and romance novels.
That being said, based on my experience with Prime Music we will probably just get old nonfiction and romance novels anyways (and definitely not textbooks, which is most of what I use Kindle ebooks for anyways).
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Audible is a great deal, I'd highly recommend it. Even if you don't go with Amazon I'd highly suggest trying out Audible for a month if you have a lot of hours available to listen.
Face it, print media is on a path to become obsolete. Including libraries. I am curious as to what 'Unlimited' will include. I am a nonfiction reader.
That would be an immediate deal-killer; I usually have several books I'm reading at once and am bad about finishing them.
I doubt Amazon is going this route though.