The ability to give away or sell a used book is called the “First Sale Doctrine” in copyright law. But by sending me a digital file and tethering that file to a specific device, Amazon and the publishers have removed my right to transfer it, and thereby destroyed a portion of the book's value. By all rights they should offer me a better price, considerably better, than the hardcover (or, for that matter, softcover) edition. Is a few hours' worth of portability worth everything else I lose?