― John Locke
Those of you as addicted to their ebook readers as I am are probably aware of the disagreement going on between Hachette books and Amazon. I remember when Apple was first coming out with iPads, and suddenly ebook prices were skyrocketing. My significant other was significantly annoyed. He kept yelling "COLLUSION" and forecasting a lawsuit to come. He was right, of course, and reminds me of that fact...often. Amazon wanted to keep prices at 9.99 or lower, and publishers wanted to raise them significantly. Several of the publishers ultimately settled, and I am happily spending my portion of the settlement on new ebooks. Hachette and Amazon just can't seem to come to terms though, and this is hurting us all. I try to read all sides of the debates, but the numbers seem to tell the story. Amazon came up with the following figures: " For every copy an e-book would sell at $14.99, it would sell 1.74 copies if priced at $9.99. So, for example, if customers would buy 100,000 copies of a particular e-book at $14.99, then customers would buy 174,000 copies of that same e-book at $9.99. Total revenue at $14.99 would be $1,499,000. Total revenue at $9.99 is $1,738,000." Math has never been my strong suit, but these numbers seem to favor lower prices.
I do understand publisher's fears that electronic devices will ultimately make books obsolete, but I disagree. No matter what form a book takes, it is still a wonderful journey into another world, and we readers will never let those precious reading times disappear. We can't stop the growth of technology though, and we really don't want to, so let's just accept it and move on.
Speaking of moving on, aghhhhhhhhh! Next time I decide to go for the adventure of moving, someone convince me to try an easier adventure...like bungee jumping over a pit of Florida gators. At least that is quick, and I will know the possible pitfalls in advance. I have been writing my reviews, etc., for the last two hours, and the sun is just beginning to come up now. I can't seem to sleep anymore, which is a good thing for MADDERLY REVIEW, because my normal writing hours are now being taken up by stressing and packing. Four A.M. Seems to be the only time I can get creative. Even finding time to read is difficult. You will notice I have chosen two lighter books to read and review this week. They were actually quite good and took my mind away from stressing for brief periods of time.
Hopefully you will enjoy them as much as I did.
Happy reading.
- Beverly