I heard about Seth Godin’s book The Dip, and while it’s been out for a while, I thought it might make an interesting read.

Of course, being an 80 page book only, why not read it quickly on my computer? I figured I could save a few dollars by buying it in electronic format. How wrong was I! While I found prices as low as US$5 for a hardcover copy (unfortunately the shipping cost to NZ takes out that option), the cheapest price I could find for an e-book version was US$11.66 (about NZ$15)!

When I can buy books for NZ$2 from a secondhand store near my house, why would anyone pay 7 times that for an e-book with a fifth of the amount of content in it? (Unfortunately the said secondhand store is unlikely to carry the book in question at this time).

Have you ever purchased an e-book? When you consider the cost of distribution saved by purchasing an electronic copy, was it reasonably priced?

I’m currently reading: Wicked, Into the Storm (for something a bit different), Spirit Controlled Temperament (I plan to do a review on this at some point) and Psalms.

What are you reading at the moment?

Everyone likes to read, even if it’s just a little bit, sometimes! (I mean, you reading this post is proof of that, right?)

As previously mentioned, I’m currently reading The Kingdom of Couches by Will Walker.

In talking about the Bible, operating manuals and complexity, Walker writes:

Nobody reads operating manuals for pleasure, because they tend to be boring. Brett gets the impression that some students we meet with find the Bible boring. They only read it because they are supposed to or because they need to find a solution of some sort. Very few read the Bible because they long to discover the depth of mystery that is God and man and relationship between the two.

Well mister Walker, call me a geek, but I like to read operating manuals! OK, so I don’t read them terribly often, but they can be fun; You can’t tell me I’m the only one who reads instruction booklets just in case I’ve missed out some exciting feature or easy way to achieve a certain result with the latest new gadget!

I’ve recently finished reading “Canon EOS 40D” and Flash Photography with Canon EOS Cameras (Not quite a manual as such, but a great 60-odd page article on flash photography!) See? Manuals can be exciting!

I’d like to hear what you’re reading this summer (or winter if you’re on that side of the world)! I’d also be keen to hear what the last operating manual that you enjoyed reading was!