Science Fiction
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December book club canceled. Short stories instead!
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It just feels weird to me that digital version of a book is treated as having limited amount...
It's just bytes in some computer.
Why would user A need to wait until user B is finished with the book, before being able to read it?
It's just the cost model. The authors usually write as their primary source of income, so they're selling each book. If they just sold one and everyone copied it, it would either have to be tremendously expensive or it wouldn't pay their bills. I brought my kids up not to pirate music and movies for the same reason - it doesn't support the artists. I'm actually a bit uncomfortable using the library for the same reason since I can afford the books if I just reprioritize a bit.
The same happens with movies in theater. When we switched to digital, a decades ago, they was like "everyone can have the movies at the same time, not like with limited physical copies".
It was a lie. Sure, everyone can have a copy on the release day, but not everyone will have the time-key for delock it from X days since Y date. So some theaters will have it first weeks, others only the third ones.
Again, this is not because the tech is not enabling this, but an attempt to extort more money (for earlier delock) from the theaters is there.
Hey, just so you know, you can sign up for multiple library cards and Libby will give you the option to choose the shortest hold times.
I know San Bernardino has a free digital card for for CA residents, and I think the Sacramento library has a similar situation but you need to get a card in person.
Oh, interesting. Maybe a silly question, but is it ethical? I mean do they intentionally include people who don't live in the area, or is it just a loophole?
You need to get a library card, and some libraries have an aegis that covers larger groups of people (for eg all Californians), while others only cover those that live in a given city/town.
So no, it's not unethical, unless you're pretending to live in CA (or wherever) when you don't, in which case why bother with getting a card and app and just torrent.
Okay, thanks, that makes sense. I really try to live ethically and not game the system.
Just find libraries in your city first, then check the counties and neighboring cities, as they usually have reciprocal agreements, or may be part of a regional network for ebooks. Then check the state (in my experience, state libraries are open to anyone that lives in the state, but you generally have to show up at the branch with an ID and proof of residency).
Okay, thanks.
I do this too!
Just use libgen and email it to your Kindle. Free books forever.
What's libgen?
Pirated ebooks, most people use it to avoid buying insanely expensive college textbooks.
College textbooks are a racket, for sure, especially when the teacher requires an expensive book that he or she wrote, which I had happen more than once. In one case, we didn't use that book a single time in class.
Good to hear!
Overdrive is greedy. They charge libraries obscene amounts of money for access to their catalog, and most libraries can only afford to pay for a fraction of what's available.
And it's not just the new, high-demand titles that are a problem. I have one overdrive book that's been on hold for over a year.
It's "The Sun Also Rises" by Hemingway.
It's overdrive the same as Libby? I think Libby is what my reservations are through.
Yup. Overdrive is the service, Libby is the app.
Someone else said you can have multiple libraries, so you might try that. I see for mine that there's a two week wait, with about one person per the 15 copies they have waiting.
You can read that for free any time, as it is in the public domain. Gutenberg has it in a bunch of formats. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67138