Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix isn’t available in German — officially. But volunteers are translating it and making it available online, reports Amy Harmon in the New York Times.
E-books of the Harry Potter series just aren’t available. So fans who want to read on the go — on the bus to work, on a lunch break, at the gym — are supposed to schlep three pounds of dead tree hither and yon and back hither again.
Well, let me say something about this:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix isn’t available in German — officially. But volunteers are translating it and making it available online, reports Amy Harmon in the New York Times.
E-books of the Harry Potter series just aren’t available. So fans who want to read on the go — on the bus to work, on a lunch break, at the gym — are supposed to schlep three pounds of dead tree hither and yon and back hither again.
Well, let me say something about this:I bought the hardcover edition as soon as I could, but I also downloaded a scanned (and not entirely corrected) version to put it on my PDA. Why? I sometimes walk for an hour or two of exercise, and I love to read as I walk. (Don’t worry, poll fans, I do look up near intersections.) I’m obviously not going to be using both at the same time, so it’s like time-shifting, only I’m format-shifting.
I’ve bought the book, and while the publisher might say that I only have a right to read that copy, I disagree. I paid for an object that confers the ability to read the novel’s text, but not to give a copy to others. Ever time I was reading the novel on my PDA, the hardcover was locked in my house. Nobody else was using it, except perhaps a cat who wanted to perch on a tall object.
Is JKR losing money because I downloaded an electronic copy? No. She’s losing money because she isn’t selling e-books.
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