I loaned a book to a friend the other day.  He was at my house, we were talking about Henry James, and I realized he would love to read the new history of the Atlantic Monthly I had just finished.  A University Press book I had bought in hardcover, I gave it to A*to take with him and read at his leisure without a second thought.

A* has a ferocious appetite for "free reading."   He is one of the few people know who takes serious literature classes in Manhattan ("adult education by serious scholars) even though a) he has a full-time day job as a lawyer; b) he has many interests that compete with books, such as Opera, Theater, and a new puppy; and c) he makes as much time to re-read classics as to read new authors.

Just the kind of friend I have loaned books to all my life.  And, by the way, just the kind who always returns them.

But I haven't loaned many books recently, because I buy most of my new books from Nook now.   Which means I cannot share them, I cannot loan them, and I cannot donate them if by chance the local library is having a fundraiser.

Could I recommend to A* he buy the ebook himself?  Of course, and he buys a lot of books, as well as borrowing many from the library.  Would he be as likely to buy it on my simple say-so as to read a loaned copy?  Having read for "free," will he be more (or less) likely to buy a copy as a gift in the future?  Who knows.

Is it more important to the future of scholarship that a) he only read what he can buy or get from the library? b) I always Facebook him about recommended reading so he won't forget to make the effort to find it elsewhere c) I pay to "gift" him a reading copy; d) we talk about books we have both read everytime we meet.