If you've got a tablet then you've already got an E-book reader, for Android I recommend the CoolReader app.

The argument about pirating books can be thought of as exactly the same as for software and music, if there is no chance or possibility that you were ever going to buy the book, the piece of software, or the CD/LP etc. then pirating deprives the author or software developer of absolutely nothing.

Not saying it's right but the logic is pretty inarguable.

When you think about it even passing on a book you have bought could be construed by some as depriving it's author of income but nobody bats an eye at that.

Yep I used to leave books in Hotel lobbies when travelling the Uk as a service engineer.
I put the date I left it and a note to the next reader to either put it back or move it somewhere else (when I did this there were 30 engineers at the company) so we all did it.

Ive put a book in a hotel on the IOW and a couple of years later it was in Belfast...
With about 50 dates and some notes written on stapled paper inside the covers.
Was the author loosing money? Yep but I bet thy made more on the sales of their other books..

If you read a lot then the subscription services are great value..
I average 200 books a year and the cost is about what 10 would cost me in a year.

If I want an art book then yes I will buy it...
I have an old Jewellery making text book that has over 700 pages with illustrations that no e reader can or will ever do justice to.
I got my copy as an apprentice in 1978 and it cost £50 then.....

Just think if a library had to pay royalties every time a book was taken out.

They do.

That's a good idea.

What's a library?

It's like a large bookshop only you don't get told off if you spend all day browsing to find books you maybe never even knew you were interested in, they can probably get hold of almost any book you could want even though it's out of print, and the books don't cost any money either.

I loved going to the local library as a kid - such a shame they seem to be closing down in the UK even if we do have all the technology benefits.

Still seem popular in Spain though - even my small village has a small library within the Casa de Cultura.

I also loved working in the charity shops and 'adopted' the book departments.

Universities used to have good libraries. I expect now they are mainly filled with screens. It was nice to have somewhere cool and quiet where you can sit and read without being disturbed.

most small, medium and big towns here in Spain have public libraries. English books are 50-50 though...

What they do have is A/C and free internet access

Also if you are signed up to your library, you may be able to use the eFilm to stream films from home.

When we lived in France my wife ran a book repository and at times had something like 5000 books, all sorted and catalogued.

Sales were held regularly but as often as not more books were donated than bought and taken away!

There was a second hand book shop in Benidorm indoor market for years.
You paid for the book and, if it was returned within a month you got 50% off the next book.
We used it but its now closed, shame really but the world has moved on, I can remember when you could rent videos there....

Only place left now are the charity shops and they are good but only if you want loads of copies of Jeffery Archers books.... and no one wants them........

Yes! And Danielle Steele and all the 'celeb' books bought at Christmas....we had to dispose of lots because they would never sell and we didn't have the space.

By the way for any Ian McEwan fans - his latest 'Lessons' is a very good read.

I haven't read it but there is a fantastic interview with him on Adam Buxton podcast- hugely funny but also one of the best interviews I have heard for a long time- his account of his education is fascinating and a wonderful example of how overated and ridiculous Russel group universities are.