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Comment by hdjjhhvvhga | Hacker News Reader

Personally, I use libgen to check if I actually want a given book, and if I do, I buy it (a physical copy, if possible). So, for me, it's a kind of a virtual bookshop.

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I do the same, i live in germany and wanted a book from UK, sadly it has 4-5 weeks delivery time but our vacation was a week away. So i downloaded the book, read it on our vacation and had the physical copy a few weeks later deliverd. Later i bought the book a second time when the german version released. With another book i bought for my wife and wanted to read at the same time, i downloaded it and we could both read it and talk about it simultaneously. Some other time i wanted to read a book at home with a physical copy and on my kindle during some time when i was outside in the garden. Cause in a hammock the kindle is easier to hold. Every time i had purchased the physical copy and the illegal download was just for convenience. No harm done.

That's great of you to buy the book as well, major kudos. I would bet most are not as altruistic as you.

Do not traditional libraries and their ebook lending systems, however inconvenient, provide the same service? All one needs to do is be patient until the book you are interested in becomes available. In the meantime, maybe you can check out a different book that is available that you might not have discovered otherwise!

What is the difference between me waiting for a single book at my library to be passed between 5 people, and me just reading it online?

Presumably the library paid for their copy?

[Edit]

Also check out OverDrive / Libby

The library would've paid for the copy regardless of whether or not the person actually borrowed the book - the act of borrowing itself makes no difference.

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