Anybody else frustrated with the SecuRom inserted into the latest edition of Bonfire of the Vanities? Seriously, screw Random House.

Okay, I know there's a huge used book market these companies have to go up against. It's one of the largest book-related industries on the planet, taking income away from the first-time sellers. But to disable my book so it can't be re-sold after 3 complete reads just wrecks the experience for the law-abiding readers who want to share the story with their family.

And what's this stuff about having to share accounts with my whole family. Now if I want to share the book with my Mom, she has to start from the same page as I'm at. Sure, she can move to any page she wants after that, but with only one bookmark per account, it means she's going to find out that McCoy's in big trouble before she even starts the book.

And sure, there are a lot of pirates out there that copy books--I think there's even sites where you can download the whole book DRM free, but you aren't going to stop them by making my reading experience more complicated. I know a lot of people share books with their friends, which does take away from the income of the original authors, but I swear I never do that. I just want to share the book with my family. I promise I won't lend it to anybody, because that would be illegal.

Now, every time I go to get it off the shelf, I've noticed significant slowdowns, and my photocopier doesn't work because, gee, I guess I've got to be using that for piracy, right? I even burned down the whole shelf before doing a fresh read, but the DRM is still there, hidden beneath those old photo-albums I never leaf through anymore.

Those damn pictures. I miss you Cheryl.



I know a lot of you will question my need for two or three bookshelves, but I just have a lot of books. Now I can't move a book I legally bought without eliminating a full read. And if I want to read it again, I have to call up Tom Wolfe and have him read it to me. I know customer support is pretty good this time of year, but dammit, I shouldn't have to bother Mr. Wolfe just to read his book again.

You know what? I'm downloading a pirated copy anyway. Screw Random House. I paid for this book, and I'm going to get a few more reads out of it. Maybe that way my Mom and I can have separate accounts. And I can have a copy at work to read on the crapper too.

Thank goodness I can still freely trade and re-watch movies with as many friends as I want. Imagine the uproar if they put that crap in any other media!

Well the very idea!