I love the immediacy of buying an e-book and reading it seconds later. I also love that I can carry multiple books on my phone and Paperwhite in my bag.
But now, after a few years of buying and reading e-books, I'm sad to see empty spaces on my bookshelf where my previously-read-books should be displayed. I _really_ wish that publishers would let me buy the paper version and upsell me the digital for $2 more. (or Vice versa). I'd do that all day long. But I don't think that's gonna happen. I can't be alone in this. Maybe I just need to switch back to paper books. That's the most obvious answer, but it's also the least convenient. Does anyone else here solve this in a clever way?
I "solved" this problem for myself by buying paper books and then pirating an electronic version. Of course, this won't be agreeable to everyone, but it works for me. It supports the author all the same, and only Amazon takes a hit. But I would definitely switch if they started selling bundles.
You wind up with a superior product in this case as well. A physical artifact that can be displayed or loaned, and a DRM-free digital copy that can be read conveniently on any platform.
I've had the same exact thought. I love paper books: the aesthetics (the non-empty spaces on the bookshelf that you mention), the smell (I might be weird), the natural ability to make notes, proper typography, etc. But I do miss my Paperwhite when I am travelling, or have to wait somewhere for 15 minutes. I am also anxious that I'll have to move soon, and my bookshelf will definitely not make that any easier. A free (or next to free) electronic version when you buy a physical book would make so much sense. An audio version would make even more sense, but that's definitely too much to ask for given the prices of audio books. I do wonder if they've done the math and decided not to do that because enough people are ready to pay for multiple modalities.
I think I was offered the digital version because I had purchased the "analog" version on amazon (was it for some specific publisher?). I can't find evidence of it though.
Could have been us — we have a "free PDF if you email me proof of purchase for print" policy for all our books[1,2,3]. Currently, I handle this manually via email, but I wish this was more automated somehow (e.g. shopping cart plugged into print-on-demand fulfillment API + digital delivery of eBook in all formats).
