David, nice piece but this problem won't go away. People don't like to pay for things and that's why we have "free" TV (paid for by ads). Realistically, the future is ebooks with ads i think - something like google ads, perhaps?  Ebooks have no publishing costs and if they were sold at lower prices, perhaps that would induce sales? Anyway, don't worry -most people still prefer a good old paperback - paid for - or perhaps borrowed from the library!