Final Thought

We need a lot of changes to the digital book market. In the meantime, I know that I will continue to hop around services taking what offers I can. As the Audibles and Spotifys of the world fight it out, I will surely be the beneficiary of some deals. It would be tempting to observe this and think that no changes in the digital book market are needed because the free market is apparently providing better services at lower rates.

But if recent history teaches us anything, it’s that this is a temporary state of affairs until one model finally dominates or a handful of these companies reach some detente verging on antitrust.

In the digital world, we can rent beach houses, watch them flood, and move to another. Because new beach houses pop up, it’s possible to ignore the receding coastline for a time. But we may one day find the land has shrunk to a patch only able to support a single high-rise building welcoming us digital serfs home with targeted and tracked lease ads. Let’s hope not.

***************************

Author’s note: books mentioned in this essay often link to Bookstore.org in support of Bolin Books, an independent bookseller in my community. None of the books I read in this essay were bought in support of Bolin Books. If you consider purchasing any book mentioned here, please consider helping me atone for my biblio-sins.