Going to a library in MY country will only show you how much piracy is a basic staple of survival. Public libraries are pretty much nonexistent, but University libraries are literally filled with PHOTOCOPIED books, and school libraries are filled with donated ones.
(ETA) and if you borrow a book, you usually have to return it within 1-3 days. Plus there is little to no fiction at all, let alone an “imported” fiction, sci-fi, paranormal, etc. sections. Compared to my experience in the western countries I’ve been to, I can usually borrow books for about a month.
Same with school libraries here - those are free, but only because you’re already paying lots of tution fees with library costs included. We keep books for a week or two, and most of them are donated by students. Since I do go to a private school, my school can sometimes (once in like five years) order a few books. Never been done in the five years I’ve been in school, but my librarian did take my recs and is going to order this year - but I’ll be out of school by then.
Colleges I can’t speak for, since I’m going to uni this year, but yeah I don’t see them being better off.
And the libraries with decent ish book selections are huge chains with a higher subscription fee.
The smaller subscription fees are public libraries, and these are mostly filled with poetry and self help. Very little fiction, if at all.
Wow, I’ve never heard of library chains before! But what we do have here are small, independent businesses–think literally like a small coffee shop, except instead of selling coffee, they rent out stuff. These are mostly manga rentals (these ones are legally purchased manga, because look at that, translated manga is actually affordable without costing you half a month’s salary, lol), but we also have DVD rentals (yep, all pirated), PC software/game rentals (also pirated, lol), and console game rentals (I think you can guess, lol). In those days people didn’t even blink at the fact these were pirated. I doubt most were even aware of what piracy is back then, because that was literally how 90% of the population would’ve even heard and had access to all this foreign stuff.
Another shock- I had no idea library chains are hard to come by. JustBooks is a really huge Indian chain, they have multiple outlets in one city, and usually if another outlet has a book you want they will internally rotate it to get it to the one near you so you can read that book. But it’s also a private and sort of expensive chain in the sense that it’s only available to well off middle class, and the books there are probably ones no one has heard of, and the extremely popular YAs, or classics - ones with lower prices even on importing or local books. I barely say any adult, or even upper YA fiction while I still had a subscription (to be fair, this was when I was in 6th grade, so what did I know… But I did have their entire children’s fiction aisle read in two years or so.)
Mostly when I went there, I would have to browse through their books to find something I might enjoy, simply because I didn’t know anything that was already there.
This is also true of major bookstores like Crossword here. Other than the super popular YA (think Cassandra Clare, SJM, Agatha Christie etc, yet no NK Jemisin or Mark Lawrence) or Adult fiction, you will find a lot of obscure stuff, mostly written by unknown authors. And imported midlist authors are hard to come by. My favourite authors’ books cost ~ 2000 to import, or like 1700 for used copies, on Amazon, even about a year after release in paperback. This is against the standard ~ 500-700 per book here (and my favourite authors aren’t even that hidden, just midlist, yet their books cost around 4x the standard in my country). Used book sales have none of the books I want to read, either.
So I end up pirating most popular fiction I want to read, simply because importing it costs too much and I can’t access it at local stores. If Brandon Sanderson is hard to find…
Well.
I wish we had a private library as an alternative to the few state ones we do. Would’ve saved me a lot of piracy, lol. As it happens, we only even have ONE major bookshop chain, and like, two? major imported bookshop chains. So options (and reading catalogue) are very limited.
Towards the tail end of my uni days (when I actually had some money, lol), I started purchasing books from book depository, though I could only budget like a book every four months maaaaybe if I’m good at saving. Even then, it took like a month for a book to arrive, and you better hope it doesn’t get destroyed or taken (or you’re asked to pay extra tax) by the Customs office.
I only heard of and read Brandon Sanderson because of how easily he made his e-books downloaded. It was like he was marketing his stuff to be downloaded for free. That’s how I found him in the first place, and he’s one of my favourite writers to this day. He was sadly unknown in my country, but I’ve seen him trending more and more over the past 5 or so years. Some of his work is now even translated! I still firmly believe that the vast piracy of his stuff here contributed to his popularity today (also helps that his work is actually fun and well-written, lol).
I only heard of midlist authors (or even the more niche popular authors like NK Jemisin) from used book stores. It helped a LOT that I spent my high school years in a highly touristic island. There weren’t many international second-hand bookshops (back then I could only find two), but some tourists would dump their used books in these shops. That’s how I found (and read) Robin Hobb, Philip Pullman, etc. Not exactly e-book piracy, but it’s not like they saw any monetary profit from those sales, either. But Robin Hobb also became one of my favourite authors and I’ve since re-purchased new editions of her books so they look better on my shelf, lol.
Pretty much the same here. There’s no imported book chains, but yeah Crossword does sort of have a monopoly on book sales (Think Barnes n Nobles, but so much bigger, because even independent stores are so hard to come by. The only independent store I know is because someone in my mother’s relations runs it.)
That sounds really hard. None of that here, thankfully, but it’s just the conversions and shipping that makes the prices skyrocket.
Yeah! So I found out about this a lot after finding out who he was, but I still haven’t read any of his books, waiting for my exams to be done for a while.
Yeah he’s still very much unkown here. I asked my school librarian about him, and she had no idea who he was. Neither did she know what Dune or Wheel of Time were. Dune and Wheel of Time are available at Crossword, but Sanderson is most definitely not. So even if some author is trending abroad, it takes 10-20 years for the trends to reach us here, at least in the businesses.
This really helped some of my friends get into different kinds of books. The most widely available books here are Agatha Christie, and Nancy Drew, Hardy boys etc. These three series are definitely nostalgic for anyone from my generation here, because all of us have read and loved them at some point of another. And since different books weren’t available, we had to pirate them to get variety, and that variety lead to people actually figuring out their tastes.
That’s also hard to come by over here. The closest would be used book sales once in a while, and these have books that are very very niche - to the point that there might not even be a goodreads page for some of them. And it’s really hard to find reviews or information on these books.
I believe someone has donated Philip Pullman to my school library, but I had no chance to read it before losing access to that library. And Robin Hobb is someone I’ve heard of only through booktube. And I’m someone who has more knowledge about authors than most people in my country. So in situations like these, piracy is the natural step that people have to take, simply because access is limited.
I understand that this gets under A LOT of people’s skin, but when it does happen because I see it happening all over Pinterest/BookTok/BookTube.
People annotating their books with highlighters, post-its, and pens or pencils.
Most people who read books and don’t do that think “why would someone waste money just to scribble in book like that?” is totally understandable. I at one point thought that as well.
Like, you go to the bookstore or something and buy a book just to scribble your thoughts and feeling on a chapter inside the book no less.
That drives people who read but don’t annotate bonkers while at best that had me confused as hell.
Yet, when that person buy a book that is either brand-spanking new or moderately used just to annotate, I hate to say it, it is their book now and they can pretty much do what they want with it…even burn it.
It sucks I know! And nobody is going to jail or prison for writing in a book that they brought with their money.
Plus those people want to get every ounce of enjoyment from the book by doing that.
It all stems to allowing people to do what makes them happy and stop caring, because at the end of the day nobody is getting physically hurt or killed over it.
But there are some readers, which I haven’t seen do this yet I am certain they exists, who would jot down the things they love, hates, or like in a journal or notebook geared towards the book they are reading.
Like, if I have a journal to jot down my thoughts, feelings, and opinions about a book that I am reading, rather than annotating the entire novel. I can just annotate the journal or notebook instead.
Yeah, and Amazon is a total dofus for thinking someone in England is posting their stuff on an India based printed site, or American authors post their stuff to China. Amazon done lost it’s marbles from the start.
Yeah, we photocopy entire books here. I was in utter shock when I heard about the practice, especially because it was our professors who were telling us first semester students that this is what everyone does. When the average monthly salary is $200, even a $50 text book is out of the question. Never mind that most were costing $100+ with import and shipping fees. I remember my father scoured random bookshops and found ONE used psychology textbook—it wasn’t in my syllabus but it was my most treasured textbook and the only original I ever owned.
Unpopular opinion to some but don’t go complaining if a book gets banned because it genuinely IS age inappropriate and showing things to a kid that they shouldn’t be seeing for another couple of years at least. Either re release it as an appropriate age or rewrite parts of it.
It’s kind of crazy that even when they are not importing but shipping from bookstores in other cities, the cost is still that high. I get that the books I want are sometimes low in demand, and hard to come by, but the prices are downright scary.
I wish I wasn’t born here either. It just keeps going dooooown hill, and I think we’ve already reached the tipping point long ago.
There are some nice qualities here, but the government and the system is so corrupt it’s not even worth it.
I hope everything works out for you.
It’s so weird (and sad) to me that other countries don’t have free libraries. Like, I understand the point of a subscription library because they’re privately funded through a collective of people and use the fees to fund themselves vs. public libraries where they’re funded through taxes/property taxes within the area. The library I work at is free because of the taxes—all you need for a library card if you live within the state of Kansas is a proof of address with your name on it, unless you’re a minor then we just need your parents’ address, etc. Even homeless people can get a library card if they have a PO box or a friend or family member that they have to get their mail. And we also don’t have late fees. The only fees required are damage or lost fees, if you want to use our meeting rooms, or for faxes and prints. Other fees would include: 25 dollars (USD) to get a library card with us if you live out of state or country (and it’s a single fee; not yearly or monthly), a dollar for replacement cards, and we have a donation jar (we can’t accept personal tips, so any money people give us goes to the donation jar which help pays for the library) and we have a donation booksale where you can buy however many items for however much you’d like, and all profits go to the library. Other than that, we’re also funded by a group of rich people who also keep the library afloat.
But it’s like… why don’t other places do this? Like, if you live in a poverty-stricken area, how do you think you’re going to benefit if people can’t use your services? It’s like opening an expensive store in the poorest town ever and expecting people to buy your products. That’s a terrible business move. I can understand if it’s placed in a wealthier area of said town, but even then, why not have other libraries that can benefit the lower-classed citizens? Then again, I guess it’s the same thing as earlier—the system sets you up for failure. If lower-classed citizens don’t have access to knowledge and resources because they can’t afford it, they can’t create better lives for themselves.
I also wonder if it’s set up like this to prevent homeless people coming in and using their resources because “homeless people make the business look bad.” Which is really stupid, especially when in America, most libraries are the heart of the community and cities require libraries to be a fundamental shelter for the homeless. We had to stay partially open for the homeless during a massive snowstorm where it got -40 degrees (F) out for like two days. The city forced us to be open because we don’t have an actual homeless shelter in town.
I personally don’t do this, but I understand why people do it and don’t often care.
The problem with book bans is that many are banning books that actually is age appropriate but their personal beliefs think otherwise. Like, cities and other places with bookstores and libraries have banned To Kill A Mockingbird for the use of the N word or the Hunger Games because of the violence, or Two Boys Kissing because it’s about gay teens, or Harry Potter because it’s witchcraft, or some some other books I’ve seen (just don’t remember the name of) because it forced people to actually think for themselves.
Now you have Florida banning books left and right in elementary schools just because of the conservatives who want to shield their children from the world. Yes, a book should be age-appropriate, but that doesn’t mean a book about a six year old and her two moms isn’t age-appropriate.
I can understand a book for kids (ages 12 and under) not having any vulgar, talk about sex, or violence. This is what I think of when it comes to age-appropriate books for kids. But people have different ideas for what “age-appropriate” means. My library has a couple of toddler and picture books that are about the LGBT+ community. One of them is called the GayBCs which is basically the alphabet but using words from the community like “A is for Asexual, B is for Binary” kind of thing. Well, someone had posted on Facebook about how “wrong and age-inappropriate it is” because it “indoctrinates kids into being woke” and how they didn’t want their children to know that people outside the straight community exists and that they’re sexualizing the LGBT+ community. And honestly, any child under the age of five isn’t going to remember reading that book at all, especially when many toddlers can’t even read.
The library board to actually pull it off the shelf and review it, to see if it’s worth banning. Suffice to say, they kept it on the shelf because it’s perfectly fine as is.
Exactly. We can all agree “overt depiction of sex, drugs and violence” in children’s media is not right. But nobody can agree on what that means. I’m sick of this book banning/burning.
Even banning for reasons as ludicrous as “witchcraft” and “faerie porn”. Let the children read the witchy faerie porn, I say. Maybe it’ll get them to develop critical thinking skills that some parents clearly lack
Wow free libraries would sure be amazing. It sounds like it could be a community centre for sure, and I’d love spending forever there!
A lot of people don’t see the value. Libraries are not their first priority when most people around the area that needs it most barely have a roof over their heads. Slums are very tightly packed and basic necessities are either sparse or not in good condition. So people focus on that.
I get it, basic necessities are more important than entertainment or even upskilling through books, but it does feel like nothing is changing on either front.
There’s also the matter that most Indians don’t value free stuff - anything that tries to be free would quickly get vandalised and probably destroyed. It’s not because our general population is like that, just because there’s too many people around and not all of them are nice.
This is another issue i have. Our libaries here in Idaho are on petitions to go to court and possibly get shut down. Why? Because parents dont like the books they have. “I cant ban the books, so im going to ban the library instead”. Or just monitor what your child reads? Its not hard. Be an effing parent. Its not our job to censor things for YOUR kids. Thats no different than trying to shut Netflix down for having rated R movies. “They have things inappropriate for kids”. Yeah no shit sherlock, because they’re a service that offers everything to fit everyone’s tastes.
I hate erotica, and smut, and RH and whatnot. But i dont think that writers shouldnt be able to write it. I just wont read it. Parents should do the same.
It’s just wild to me that these parents are targeting BOOKS of all things. Not movies not streaming services, but books. As if you cant go to the library with your child when they pick a book, or you cant see what theyre reading to make sure its appropriate.
Also, this is probably a shared opinion here but banning books is ridiculous. Its not going to do any good but prove that people are too controing and sensitive. It shouldnt be allowed. Like Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, To Kill A Mockingbird… all books libraries are banning in certain states. And all books ive had to read.
Now i dont mean to toot my own horn but i like to think im a pretty good kid. Follow the rules and whatnot. Never actually rebelled, did drugs, or any of that growing up. I wasnt the problem child. And i read books. And my mom has never monitored what i read. Back in the day i would read questionable things. To say that books are going to corrupt your child is a fat lie. They didnt influence me. I know what is and isnt toxic in romance. If you dont like it, then dont read it. Dont let your kids read it. But its not your job to ban everything for everyone not appropriate for your children. Otherwise you need to ban sex, too. And we all know thats not gonna happen. So chill out. Stop targeting books. Just be a more active parent in your child’s life. Thats all it takes.
It just keeps going dooooown hill, and I think we’ve already reached the tipping point long ago.
And we all know thats not gonna happen. So chill out. Stop targeting books. Just be a more active parent in your child’s life. Thats all it takes.