Moving Forward

I like the idea of Bookshop.org because it leverages the internet to connect books and readers while supporting local sellers rather than hoarding all the proceeds up into a single multinational company. I’ve never used it because I primarily read digital now. Bookshop recently began selling ebooks and so I bought my first book from there. Due to DRM restrictions, I can only read Bookshop purchases in the Bookshop app, not my Kindle, though there are apparently plans to make this available with Kobo later in the year.

For a while, I’ve considered buying a non-Kindle e-reader. Yes, some part of that thought derives from my wanting to escape the Amazon ecosystem. But true to my reader profile, an even greater part of me wants an e-reader that is smaller than the Kindle and that accepts more formats than the Kindle. If an e-ink device with a desirable form factor that also allowed me to support local bookshops came onto the market, I may have to jump ship finally.

Indie bookstores gaining the ability to sell ebooks to customers is opening more consumer options. Dare I hope that this could mean more options for libraries? Could libraries source their books through Bookshop, or something similar, and keep more of their tax-funded dollars within their own community?