I hate (although I understand) the restricted availability of ebooks. They should be infinite, dammit! I'm really bad at queuing up virtually. I never make it back. And I'm not part of any library systems that will push something I requested, or the availability of something I was looking for.

Doesn't Kindle have a rule where a library can only check out an ecopy so many times before they have to buy a new copy? Whereas a physical book can be lent a hundred times if it physically holds out?

It's pretty much a permanent problem - I'd check out books, take them back, they'd be put on a cart and shelved elsewhere. Then I wouldn't be able to check out more until I paid the fines. I could go back ... but it would just be starting the cycle over again.

That happened to me once -- I was so pissed! And made them not charge me, once I went and found all of the books on the shelves. After that, I made sure I watched a staff person check my books all the way back in.

I tried that - sometimes I'd go through the shelves to find the books I'd returned. Then I took to removing the due date cards and playing dumb - gee, I'm not sure when these are due ... the cards fell out. Could you see if they're overdue? But they started catching on and would just dump the books onto the cart for returned books that were supposed to be checked in and reshelved.

Doesn't Kindle have a rule where a library can only check out an ecopy so many times before they have to buy a new copy? Whereas a physical book can be lent a hundred times if it physically holds out?

It's certain publishers (Harper Collins is the only one I can think of off the top of my head; there may be others), and not Kindle/Amazon.

And it is a shitty policy.

How many people here always (at least try to) type "Doctor Who" and not "Dr. Who"?

I do, because that's how the show spells it in the credits.

Whew. Finally caught up after being away for the extended weekend. Now to bitches.

It's certain publishers

Oh, right, it was the publishers, not the device. I'm still glad I went with the Nook, which has fewer restrictions.

I'm not sure what restrictions the Kindle even has, or how it compares to the Nook. I think the ability to check out library books (provided they're in Kindle format, obvs.) is awesome.

B&N only lets you lend a certain number of times, and only some books, which irritates me, because I want to get my sister hooked on both ebooks in general and some books in specific.

The number of loans doesn't seem to be publisher dependent for them, although which books you can loan at all probably is.

I was thinking primarily of restrictions on formats. I love being able to fling anything I like onto my Nook. I haven't looked at lending or getting things through the library.