(with audio book sales)

g is getting a kindle 2 for his birthday, or the ides of march, or whenever it shows up. i’m not letting the cat out of the bag by posting this; he knows i ordered it for him before xmas, and the order’s been languishing in amazon’s no-stock purgatory for months. and although infinite jest isn’t yet available for the e-book reader, i think it’s still a pretty useful gadget.

version 2 has a number of improvements and changes from version 1, including the ability to “read” the book out loud. a great boon for people with poor eyesight (like g’s grandmother), or people who want the book along for road trips. but the authors guild is apparently up in arms about it, arguing that the reader function violates the author’s copyright and erodes the market for audio books.

they’re morons. (and the EFF points out the real absurdity of their arguments.)

for one thing, once i have an authorized copy of a work, i can do pretty much what i want with it. i can have it fitted nasally. i can use it as a dog toy. i can even *gasp* read it out loud to the mice living under the dishwasher! (that’s a topic for another post.)

but let me see: if i could choose between (picking a book at random, here) the graveyard book being read by author neil gaiman, or the same book read by the kindle’s robotic voice, which would i pick? that’s a no-brainer – i’d go with neil. (and i happily will still go with neil, as he’s sensibly against the guild’s infringement stance.)

another thing: i’d be very surprised to learn that every book available for the kindle is also available in audiobook. (infinite jest, for example, isn’t available in either format.) picking a book at random – kerouac’s on the road (original scroll edition) is available for the kindle, and… oh, okay, i’ll pick another one. beverly cleary’s beezus and ramona is available for the kindle… no, that’s available in audiobook as well. hmm. how about terhune’s lad: a dog? okay not available for the kindle, or in audiobook. trying again… anthony beevor’s the battle for spain: the spanish civil war 1936-1939 is available for the kindle, but is not available in audiobook form.

i rest my case.

but seriously. copyright infringement? eroding the market for the audiobooks? please. it almost might be worth tracking down the authors who agree with the guild and boycotting their works in any form.