10 Comments
Sep 13, 2023Liked by Rory Cellan-Jones

Would it be churlish of me to suggest this is a case of "First World problems"? After all, the book will be presumably be available for years to come...

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Oh of course it is. But if you have invested years of your life into a project you obsess over every bump in the road. And it is hugely important to get off to a good start - every year I still get a statement from the publisher of my first book telling me how much of my advance I still owe them from the tiny advance they gave me 22 years ago

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Sep 13, 2023·edited Sep 13, 2023

Sorry, I must be having a bad day! You'll be pleased to know that both my wife and I have purchased the Kindle version. I'm going to hop on the exercise bike now and start reading it...

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I'm in the middle of the audible version. Wonderful!

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I enquired in the Liverpool Waterstones this morning as I was surprised not to see it on display. They had sold out and had been told it was currently unavailable. Their expected date for more copies is 27th September. The assistant said such a message/delay usually denotes that the publisher has underestimated demand. (I'd had a pre-ordered Kindle version - much enjoyed so I think one or two friends might be getting it for Christmas!)

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I just got the hardback from Amazon. Looking forward to it.

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Yes, I’ve just got the Kindle version, but I really wanted the hardback which as Rory says is not available directly from Amazon. Infuriating. Also, Amazon won’t let me purchase Kindle via the app: I have to go through the website. Very odd. By the way I loved Always On. I bought a few copies for friends and can highly recommend.

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My understanding is that Amazon won’t sell you Kindle books through their app because Apple or Google would take a huge cut from the purchase price. Presumably this doesn’t apply to Audible because you purchase credits separately. I’ll add this book to my Audible library as it sounds like a fascinating account of a different world, all the more interesting for being from the fairly recent past.

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I didn’t know that - I haven’t a clue how it works, but thanks for explaining.

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The Kindle version was available to readers in the US at 12:01 am on publication day (September 7) so Amazon deserves credit for that - at least among readers across the pond. A wonderful book.

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