Back Away from the Computer

I found myself a bit depressed last night, perhaps because I've watched eight episodes of Millenium in the past two days. In 2000, I watched a marathon of the series and was fascinated by several of the episodes. I found a used copy (How's that for irony? Keep reading.) of the first season on Friday and settled in to watch. I'm still fascinated, although I'm thinking I might need to spread out my viewing for my emotional health.

This morning I settled in front of the computer to catch up on blogs. Angie has a column for Romancing the Blog about trading e-books. It's an intriguing topic and excellent column. Unfortuntely, I got frustrated with one of the responses. Here's what I replied.

Interesting column, Angie. Especially since I've started reading e-books this last year and can relate to many of the points you bring up. I wish there were a way to trade e-books, but I can understand the issue's complexities, since, as Elizabeth points out, you can trade an e-book and still have a copy.

A few comments about the comments.

To assume that every person who read a loaned or resold book would have bought it or paid the full price is to assume a great deal.

Thank you, Elizabeth, for bringing up this point. Many readers, myself included, frequent the library, especially for books or authors they haven't tried before. I do the same thing with used books or books I have borrow from friends. In fact, there are several authors whose books I now buy new because I once bought them used: Michele Albert, Mary Balogh, Karen Harbaugh, Jill Shalvis, to name a few.

An author may wish I had always bought her books new, but I suspect she'd prefer I buy some books new than none at all, which is what would happen with many readers like me if we stopped buying used books. If I had all the money in the world to spend on books, I'd be happy to buy all new ones. Since I don't, I would stick with my autobuy authors if told I had to buy new.

Obviously I have strong feelings about this issue.

(Edited part of my response for length)

It is unethical to resell print books as well as ebooks. It is still the same concept. . . . Technically, you are not just trading paper vs. bits, you are trading a story that a person put blood, sweat and tears into so he or she can make a living.

Doesn't this same logic apply to anything you buy? House, clothing, jewelry, cars?

I understand authors who feel strongly about wanting people to buy their books new. I really do. But it's one thing for an author to say she'd like readers to buy books new and another to say it's unethical to sell a book. (I'm talking print books, not e-books now.)

Anyone else who thinks it's unethical, do let me know. I'll make sure I never buy your books used. If you're lucky, my book budget may stretch to cover buying it new. If not . . . well, take comfort in knowing you won't be one of those soon-to-be-autobuy authors I discover through used copies.

As I said, I understand why some authors feel strongly about this issue. I feel just as strongly about the fact that I discover many authors through used books that I would never buy new first. Period. There's a simple reason for this: finances. Surprisingly enough, there are limits to how much I can spend on books if I want to eat and pay my mortgage.

What I don't understand is why an author would say it's unethical, even if that's what she believes. Some things are obviously unethical, but buying and selling used books isn't one of those things. Using a word like that can alienate your audience, also known as the book-buying public. I suspect that's why there are a number of "anonymous author" comments on the subject.

I don't do a lot of experimenting when I buy new books. I used to, but I got burned too many times. However, you'll see that I bought books from new-to-me authors at the literacy signing. If I like a library book I read, I buy a new copy. And as I've already mentioned, I've bought books by several authors that I first bought used.

As you can see, I'm getting all worked up about this, which is a problem. And I'm hijacking the comments away from Angie's topic. So I'm going to back away from the computer, nice and slow.

Maybe I should go make lunch and watch a few more episodes of Millenium.



P.S. Would I have bought the first season of Millenium if I'd had to buy it new? No. But I'm probably going to buy the second season. Damn it.