Amazon launches rental e-textbooks!

I have just read that Amazon are advising students, that they can dump their heavy books and not have to lug around heavy books anymore because they have launched a much better service and better for your back too!

Tens of thousands of electronic textbooks have been added to the online retailer's catalogue for the 2011 school year. Students are able to rent the textbooks for any period of time ranging from 30 days to 360 days. 

"Students tell us that they enjoy the low prices we offer on new and used print textbooks. Now we're excited to offer students an option to rent Kindle textbooks and only pay for the time they need - with savings up to 80% off the print list price on a 30-day rental," said  Dave Limp, vice president, Amazon Kindle.

The digital textbooks will be available on Amazon’s Kindle reading apps, meaning that students don’t necessarily need to own a Kindle eReader to rent, read and make annotations on the eTextbooks. The Kindle textbooks can be accessed via an iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, PC, Mac or an Android-based device with one of Amazon’s free Kindle Reading Apps.

So what are you waiting for!

Amazon Kindle v Regular Books

I have often had it discussed that reading books on the kindle is not the same as reading a regular book that you can buy from a bookshop or an online retailer, or that ebooks are going to shut down bookshops, publishers etc.

In my opinion, bookshops need to wake up and realise that they are charging too much for books. A few weeks ago, I was trying to find a Fathers day present for my Dad and I went into a city centre retailer in Dublin to buy a book, I had a good look around the shop but all the books were expensive and in the end, I just had to accept that I had to pay more and in the end, I bought a book which was not a hardback and it cost me €19.99 and I came out of that shop thinking there is no wonder that the book retailers are in difficulty. Nearly 20 Euro for a book, that to me is just plain madness!

I want to be able to buy books for my Kindle on Amazon and I don't want to illegally download them and I have no issue whatsoever in paying for them but I can't believe that shops are still charging ridiculous amounts for these books!

I have bought several books on Amazon for my kindle and the most I have ever paid is £2.99 and even when you convert that to Sterling (the currency in which I buy my books), it is a bargain. I refuse to pay 20 Euro and the likes for a book anymore, nothing in my opinion is worth that.

Until the bookshops wake up and see how much they are ripping us all off, nothing will change and shops will continue to go out of business. There is no reason to charge as much as they are and if you want people to use your shop, you have to give them a valid reason to do so!