Because you’re a cheap bastard unwilling to pay authors that you continually read? Wait for the f’ing paperback.
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Because I feel the Kindle edition should reflect the cost of production and be slightly less than the hardcover?
I might even pay $20 if the hardcover was $24, but why is it MORE?
I have hundreds of Kindle titles I’ve paid a reasonable price for.
Why not borrow it from the library if you think it’s not worth paying for but want to read it?
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I understand that reasoning but the solution isn’t to rip off authors we like. I pay for all authors that I reliably read for the very reason I want to them to keep writing.
Your solution for an overpriced Kindle book (ignoring that the price will go down before release) is to rip off Stephenson by paying him nothing at all?
Wait a year and buy the paperback for $7.
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I don’t read physical books anymore, only electronic. So buying a paperback is out. But they’ll never reduce the Kindle to paperback prices, ever.
Another thing lost - used book pricing.
So, basically, you’re just going to rip him off? You feel good about this and think you can justify it?
If not, what are you going to do?
You know, you could make an exception to your “no physical books” rule to support an author you like or, hey, you could pirate his book, buy the paperback later, and then toss it in the trash to make sure he gets some money for his work. That would be better than balls out telling everyone here you’re simply going to rip him off.
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I’m trying to make a point that the current electronic book system is BROKEN because e-books are priced HIGHER than physical ones and have FEWER rights.
I refuse to support it, and the authors are the ones who get punished.
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Oh, here I thought you were simply justifying ripping off an author of which you are a supposed fan. Carry on then.
We all KNOW the ebook system has issue. The solution is not to rip off your favorite author in protest.
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But you just said you refused to buy anything but ebooks. How do you not support it? Do you rip off every author you read and refuse to pay for any ebooks?
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No, I buy e-books that are priced below the hardcovers and paperbacks.
Cryptonomicon was issued in 3 volumes in some places.
That doesn’t make it a “trilogy,” that was just a concession to the readers who didn’t want to throw out their backs lifting the damn thing.
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Tell that to the people who call it “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy” - one novel in three volumes containing six books.
Hence, some people - as above - refer to it as a trilogy.
I’m not calling it a trilogy, I’m explaining why some people might - on the completely erroneous mistakenly g-dawfully wrong incorrect and just plain wrongheadly wrongity wrong wrong wrong impression - call it a trilogy.
That doesn’t explain the comment made about “finishing” the Cryptonomicon “trilogy.” Anyone who thought it was a trilogy would know it was complete (in the 1990s0.
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I just pre-purchased the book on Amazon for $21. That guarantees you the best price available between now and the release of the book.
Also, the Kindle price is only $18.99. So, stop crying about the Kindle price being higher than the hardcover.
[Amazon - Kindle Pricing][1]
Can’t wait to read it…
Anathem is $2. Clearly, they reduce the price of ebooks overtime. Unless you are a poor broke youth who can’t afford it, you are just an asshole. If blasting through a thousand pages of Stephenson isn’t worth a single 3D movie ticket, you should probably just stick coloring books.
Further, they do charge the difference in price between an ebook and a hardcover. How much do you think it costs to make a physical mass produced book? I’ll bet you it is something close to $2. It certainly isn’t the $6 price difference between the ebook and the hardcover on Amazon. A hardcover isn’t $25 and a paper back $6 because a hardcover cost $19 more to make. The price difference is basically just charging people what they can and will pay. Fans slavishly pay out full price for authors they love to get the book now, and people with less interest pick it up later when the price drops. Eventually, it gets dumped into the bargain bin for the cost of a cheap cup of coffee so anyone can grab a copy.
If you don’t like the price, how about just not fucking buying it instead of ripping off an awesome author? Seriously, if you can’t find $18 in value for a Stephenson book, read something else. Better, just go watch a single imax Michael Bay movie and get your money’s worth.
It blows my fucking mind that someone won’t pay $18 to be entertained for tens of hours by an awesome author or simply fucking wait a few months for the price to drop. People are such entitled assholes these days.
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This is a perception issue. Why am I paying more for a digital copy of a book that has virtually zero storage or delivery costs than a physical copy of the book which must be manufactured, stored in a warehouse and moved around by people?
It’s not the price I’m protesting - I’d pay $18-$20 for a Kindle edition of the book because I see the value - but they show they don’t give a shit about the customer by having the Kindle edition priced higher than the regular one. The Kindle edition is a LEASE, I can’t sell it to a used book store when I’m done, I can’t lend it to a friend. My copy of it can be changed or revoked anytime I open my reader. By every metric of ownership, the Kindle edition is worse than the physical copy, yet they have the temerity and outright disdain to charge more for it.
So, fuck them. They don’t get my money. I save it for publishers who understand I am willing to give up some rights to get an e-book edition of their work in exchange for a slightly lower price. I read about one book a week, and my Kindle library reflects that, so don’t give me your crap about ripping off authors - authors get plenty of my money.
Enigmatically, there appears to be another Neal Stephenson title slated for 2015 release—this one in February—simultaneously in audio and hardback (check footnote in linked page).
I KNOW that Neal cranking out 2 novels at once is about as likely as discovering a lost Stanley Kubrick reboot of The Love Boat. But WTF? https://www.brillianceaudio.com/product?i=6856
“BombLight,” unlike “Seveneves,” is not a palindrome. Normally, I would assume this is a mis-cataloged NS short story published in an anthology, but it’s 30 hours long.
Former working title of Seveneves? Maybe, but the page-length of Seveneves suggests its audio versh would be over 40 hours, based on Cryptonomicon’s audio length (ht @CrazyCyrano).
— @root2702
