theft of fiction

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Tiny

RECEIVED:Annoying Questions award
Nov 25, 2009
1,869
2,864
55
Wilmington DE, strange little place.
A long time ago I posted a thread about how , I would, go to
Barnes and Noble and get a cup of coffee and sit down and read
books with out paying for them.

I read:Wind through the keyhole, 11/22/64, full dark no stars,
just this way ...robbing Mr King of a (3) "royalty" I guess.

when I made this thread... but it turned ugly... and I had to
ask Ms. Mod' to lock it forever (kindda like Rage)

I have since learned how to put my name on a list at a local used
book shop , allowing me to get hard backs a about 8 dollars US .

the reason I did the above "theft" is because I didnt want to
wait for the paper backs... and I couldnt pay for hard backs.

now I know how to get them cheap and I get SK as gifts often.
I got Joyland and Dr Sleep as gifts (very cool)

I have quite a collection now , hard and soft.

I just finished Findders Keepers last night. ( I am not really a collector
...not like some anyhow)
King has "written of" a few rare book collector and none of his
writtings are "good" where they are concerned.
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
11,749
34,805
I think some bookstores encourage that kind of behavior...saw this one out in Colorado...couches, had a coffee shop inside even. Don't recall the name of it...was too busy sniffing books. That the War on Some Drugs has yet to reach, but hey, there's time. Give it time.
 

CrimsonKingAH

LOVE & PEACE
Jun 8, 2015
5,539
17,003
East Texas
Wow.. sorry your post 'got ugly'. Personally, sitting in B & N drinking coffee and reading a SK book for free is no different than picking up a used copy at a garage sale or thrift store.. or borrowing a book from a friend.. etc But that is just my opinion.
Pleased to meet you. I'm new to the MB .. but been a Constant Reader for many many (many) years.. lol
 

AnnaMarie

Well-Known Member
Feb 16, 2012
7,068
29,564
Other
Hi Tiny. Good to see you again.

I am about half way through Finders Keepers, so no spoilers here, OK! It was due back at the library this week, and you cannot renew a book with a waiting list. When I took the book out there were over 150 people on the wait list. I decided to try anyway. There were only about 10 people on the list...and that many books in library...so I got to renew and will get to finish the book. yay me!
 

CrimsonKingAH

LOVE & PEACE
Jun 8, 2015
5,539
17,003
East Texas
I think some bookstores encourage that kind of behavior...saw this one out in Colorado...couches, had a coffee shop inside even. Don't recall the name of it...was too busy sniffing books. That the War on Some Drugs has yet to reach, but hey, there's time. Give it time.
Wow.. sorry your post 'got ugly'. Personally, sitting in B & N drinking coffee and reading a SK book for free is no different than picking up a used copy at a garage sale or thrift store.. or borrowing a book from a friend.. etc But that is just my opinion.
Pleased to meet you. I'm new to the MB .. but been a Constant Reader for many many (many) years.. lol
They do Walter.. that is why I don't think it is wrong.. if it is set up for that. Most do not tho.. even Barnes & Noble in my area have restricted the eating/drinking cafe area to only 'nooks'. They have a list of free ebooks you can download in the cafe area.
I think they began the couches and cafes to get people to sit and start reading.... and their thinking was, "who is going to sit and read an entire book? " They sit and read a chapter or two and then purchase the book. But if it is allowed and encouraged.. then there is nothing in the world wrong with it. IMO
 

Mr Nobody

Well-Known Member
Jul 9, 2008
3,306
9,050
Walsall, England
Well...I could understand why you read without buying to an extent (I take it there are no libraries or copies of said books in local libraries?). But then you spoilt it by saying you'd get a coffee. Unless that coffee was free, you could've bought the hardback for around the same price as 4-6 of those coffees (based on the equivalent to a UK average price of £2.50 (US$3.90 at today's rate of exchange) and assuming there is a markdown on the hardback copy - they go for £10-12 here against an undiscounted price of about £15-20).
Had you also gone thirsty, or if the coffee was indeed a freebie, then...OK, I guess. I mean, you don't need to read the book right there and then and you don't have the right to read it just because it exists (as opposed to, say, an academic paper). I mean, I want to read Finders Keepers, but money doesn't allow so I'll just have to wait a while.
But still, be all that as it may, at least you've made it good since finding an alternate retailer.
 

carrie's younger brother

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2012
5,428
25,651
NJ
Wow.. sorry your post 'got ugly'. Personally, sitting in B & N drinking coffee and reading a SK book for free is no different than picking up a used copy at a garage sale or thrift store.. or borrowing a book from a friend.. etc But that is just my opinion.
Pleased to meet you. I'm new to the MB .. but been a Constant Reader for many many (many) years.. lol
So... with that thinking in mind, I can go into a supermarket, open a box of Oreos, eat a handful, walk over to the dairy section and chug a quart of milk and then just leave.
B&N is in the business of making money for all its employees, not just the authors of the books. By reading books without paying for them, B&N and its bottom line and eventually its employees all suffer. If people stop buying the books, profits sink and employees get laid off.
 

DiO'Bolic

Not completely obtuse
Nov 14, 2013
22,864
129,998
Poconos, PA
No it's not the same at all. You are reading his hard work for free, with coffee and maybe a danish.
Good chance of staining the pages, breaking the binding for a paying customer.


Good to see you back, Tiny!
I believe it’s even worse than that. Once a book is read in a bookstore I think it would be hard to sell and the store will be returning it back to the publisher. So expenses are incurred with no revenues to show for it. Therefore the bookstore gets hurt, the publisher gets hurt, and the author gets hurt. I am all for being able to read King novels for free if you can’t afford them… But do it right. Go to the library or borrow them from a friend. At least some revenue was made off the books.

And glad Tiny is now on the right track.

I too started reading Finders Keepers, but started out being a little bit pissed.

Jeepers, Mr. King. Can you at least get the history and years right if you’re going to bash the Tea Party? It wasn't all that long ago. In the future, have Ms Mod contact me if you need any research done on the TP. :)
 

carrie's younger brother

Well-Known Member
Mar 8, 2012
5,428
25,651
NJ
I believe it’s even worse than that. Once a book is read in a bookstore I think it would be hard to sell and the store will be returning it back to the publisher. So expenses are incurred with no revenues to show for it. Therefore the bookstore gets hurt, the publisher gets hurt, and the author gets hurt. I am all for being able to read King novels for free if you can’t afford them… But do it right. Go to the library or borrow them from a friend. At least some revenue was made off the books.

And glad Tiny is now on the right track.

I too started reading Finders Keepers, but started out being a little bit pissed.

Jeepers, Mr. King. Can you at least get the history and years right if you’re going to bash the Tea Party? It wasn't all that long ago. In the future, have Ms Mod contact me if you need any research done on the TP. :)
I for one will not buy a book, SK or any other author, if there is any sign of having been paged though. Uncracked spine, no dog ears, etc., only if I am paying for a brand new book.
 

SpazzTheBassPlayer

Well-Known Member
Dec 16, 2014
296
1,156
58
I dont believe in media stealing of any sort.....then, of course, Im a musician ( a field where this happens all too often in the digital age)

For music, the ONLY exception I make to this rule is when something has been OOP for a very long time (where "public domain" rules may apply)
 

DiO'Bolic

Not completely obtuse
Nov 14, 2013
22,864
129,998
Poconos, PA
I dont believe in media stealing of any sort.....then, of course, Im a musician ( a field where this happens all too often in the digital age)

For music, the ONLY exception I make to this rule is when something has been OOP for a very long time (where "public domain" rules may apply)
LOL, and I have a problem with the music industry. Why do I have to buy something NEW every time the media format changes? I’ve had to purchase “The White Album” new 5 times already (Album, 8-Track, Cassette, CD and MP3). There should be a discount given to UPGRADE the media. I’ve already purchased the music! :)
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
I for one will not buy a book, SK or any other author, if there is any sign of having been paged though. Uncracked spine, no dog ears, etc., only if I am paying for a brand new book.
Bookstore books--I'm with you all the way. Nearly every book I buy is from secondhand or thrift stores, or from the library book sale, though. :) I don't buy things that are nasty (and rarely buy mass market PBs, which show the most wear), but a little bit of book wear in that situation doesn't bother me.
 

Ebdim9th

Dressing the Gothic interval in tritones
Jul 1, 2009
6,137
22,104
I got a used novel, it was really good, but man was its condition disgusting.... smears and marks, and even a tiny desiccated ant on many of the pages.... if it weren't such a great story, (I feel it is one of Koontz's best, even though it's very recent "Innocence") I would have thrown the book away. And I NEVER do that.