the experience is typically atrocious however (looking at you overdrive.com) and the selection limited. netflix is easy and reasonably comprehensive. hopefully amazon's product will be as well.

I wonder if you have a not ideal library? I get a large fraction of my audiobooks and ebooks from libraries. For very popular books there's a bit of a wait list, but if you have a very long "to-read" list like I do and a library card at a major metropolitan area (in many states, you can get a library card at any library in your state assuming they take state-level funding, so if you live in a small town in California, for example, you can still get a library card at the SF Public Library and the LA Public Library so you'll have access to larger catalogs), there's usually quite a bit that's available.

New York Public Library here. the selection is definitely better than smaller library systems, but the experience still sucks compared to something like netflix. between finding the books I want in the catalog, never mind a decent recommendation system, reserving ebooks on a waitlist and finally getting a rented ebook onto my devices, it was so tedious that I just stopped bothering trying to check out ebooks from the library, despite the fact that it's free.

> netflix is easy and reasonably comprehensive.

I agree with the first part of that sentence.

I signed up for my local library and bought a Kindle precisely so I can check ebooks. Come to find out there is a waiting list for every book I've found that it worth reading to me, some of the ebooks only having one "copy". I know the publishers license it so they can make money, but that's ridiculous. Limitations of physical goods should not translate 1:1 into the digital world. One physical book should be the same as 10 ebooks.

As long as publishers control these books, we'll continue to see such ridiculous inefficiencies as "waiting lists" for a digital book, or a digital book that self-destructs after 30 checkouts.

This only happens because consumers put up with it.

Yes! Thank you. In fact, most of my local library is just shelves of book covers, most of the non-kid/non-teen collection is digital.

Once I discovered this I immediately went to my library to sign up. It's fantastic and I can now rent books digitally. The people using Amazon's service could be easily using the libraries in their community.