I got an e-mail the other day from Amazon.ca which promised me an enticing deal: 40% off on the six books short-listed for the ‘Amazon.ca First Novel Award.’
That intrigued me. I always like a good awards list; it can be a good way to discover something new in a genre I might not otherwise read. So I clicked through to the promotion and…disappointment. Here are the six books, and their respective print and e-book prices:
13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad
Paperback: $10.82
Kindle: $12.99
Seep by W. Mark Giles
Paperback: $12.00
Kindle: $9.99
Backspring by Judith McCormack
Paperback: $11.97
Kindle: $9.99
The Afterlife of Birds by Elizabeth Philips
Paperback: $13.17
Kindle: $10.99
Do You Think This is Strange? by Aaron Cully Drake
Paperback: $10.77
Kindle: $9.99
Book of Sands by Karim Alrawi
Paperback: $17.99
Kindle: $11.99
So the good news is that in all but one case, the e-book was at least cheaper than the paper editions. But all of the e-books were over $9, and the cheapest paperback was pushing eleven bucks. That’s hardly an enticing sale. So much for proudly supporting Canadian authors. At those prices, I’ll pass.
