This morning I was reading a book on the Kindle and I started thinking about what would happen to this Lee Child novel after I had finished it? In the old world I would have given the finished book to a charity shop for them to sell on.

Can e-books be transferred from person to person? Or will this simply kill the market for secondhand books?

There is a secondhand exchange for eBooks, can't remember where I've seen it but its floating around the internet somewhere, might be an Amazon site, I think its a free exchange.

As for killing the market on second hand books, I doubt it, I also seriously doubt that a person who owns an eReader would give up buying printed books too, you may not buy as many but the love for a printed book doesn't go away just because you're using an eReader now - I haunt the Oxfam bookshop in Headingley - best bookshop in the world in my humble opinion.

Of course ereaders will kill the physical book. It might not for the oldies, but 'da kids' coming through will all adopt e-readers without a thought.

I've looked into an ebook exchange before and not really found anything worthwhile.

I doubt if I'll buy a physical book again. Got my first Kindle last Xmas and I've not looked back. I read mostly when travelling for business, on holiday, in the bath, before bed and on the loo (don't we all??). The Kindle is priceless (lighter, smaller) when travelling and easier to handle in general. I can buy a new book anywhere and be reading it within a minute or two. Of course if I drop it in the bath I'm fooked.

In fact the only downfall with the Kindle is that you get told to switch it off at take-off and landing. It also jammed twice during a flight but was ok after a few minutes (there are theories about airport scanners).

Now, what to do with the couple of hundred books I've got knocking around...

There are lots of "physical" books that the eReader format is totally unsuitable for.

Anyway, to answer the original question, Amazon USA do a loan service for "secondhand" eBooks as do rlhttps://www.lendink.com/rl assuming that there are no other licensing issues on the file, and as I mention every time this question comes up, public libraries are getting on board slowly, Leeds City Library has a huge eBook stock now and has had for two years and I noticed the other day that Derbyshire libraries are doing the same, these rely on the ePub license format though where they can time limit your loan and for that reason have excluded Kindle to date.

Having read books for 50 years I was amazed how easily I took to a Kindle, I would like to be able to pass on my finished books to a charity to sell on

Nah. Anyone who loves books and reading them will always prefer books, which is of course not at all the same thing as saying they won't use e-readers in some settings.

I think a million percent (to borrow from Simon Cowell) bigger problem for da kids is that increasingly none of them would be seen dead reading a book, in any format.

But I might be wrong. We hav sumov da kids on vis forum, how many of you read books by personal choice?

While I welcome (and use) technology, I don't think there will ever be a substitute for the feel, smell etc of a real book. I have just dug out an old Cruel Sea by Monsarrat that my grandad gave me many moons ago. I love old books.

Absolutely wonderful book that is - I failed most of my O levels in 1973 because I was busy reading that book during my revision period

Apart from the actual "feel" of the book I can also remember where I was when I was reading it, books can do that to people, I was curled up in my dads armchair each evening while he was out, all the lights out in the room except for a lamp next to the chair, headphones on and listening to The Nice.

A bloody Kindle wouldn't mark those moments in your head

Don't watch any films with subtitles then!

Most of the time I'm reading stuff on the interwebby while at home, I've got me itunes blaring away.

Maybe come to think of it this is the reason I write so much crap?

I need music when I'm writing (other than the stuff I'm writing about, oddly!) but find it a distraction when I'm reading.

I've a mental division when it comes to books, there are some writers and types - Pratchett, Rankin, reference works for example - that I'll never replace with books on the Kobo but on the other hand, when it comes to casual, light reading, the ebook is a winner.

IIRC with e-books you don't actually 'own' the book.

Similar to MP3's that you have purchased - who was the "celeb" who was trying to make a court case of that in order to allow himself to legally pass his extensive MP3 collection on to his children at his demise ?