Any question answered...

putting the newspaper back in the pile

But this does allow the retailer to return it and thus it doesn't go on their circulation figures and the retailer claims the credit from the Telegraph - so it costs them. (newspapers are pretty much all sale-or-return) Plus they pay the unit cost of the water to the retailer (+ probably a handling fee) too. Whittling down the Barclay fortune, pennies at a time...

https://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/local_news/19388211.goodyear-blimp-set-uk-return-london-flyover/

I should have UTFS

Best turbo trainer tyre?

I've been using the same Conti yellow ones for a decade or more, they look like lasting until the heat death of the universe. That's not to say the red Vittorias or blue Schwalbes wouldn't be just as good. Whatever you pick, pump them up as hard as possible to minimise deflection.

It would take ages to flush a copy. My father-in-law gets a regular copy and it is useful for lining the guinea pig hutch but I can the bothered to take a copy on holiday to bring it back for that.

Yes.

Calibre is pretty easy to use, you can use it to email to your kindle or you can set up a server so your kindle can browse your calibre library (or you can just transfer via USB). I favour emailing it so that progress gets synced across multiple devices.

There are a few alternatives for academic titles but nothing really (in the UK) for standard titles. Barnes and Noble are the only one that seem to do it at the moment, Waterstones ended their offering a fair few years ago.

Does Hive.co.uk work for you? You can purchase ebooks, and they make a donation (not sure how much) to a shop of your choosing

Will check it out. Thanks

Hive books don't work with Kindle which is annoying.

Generally you need stores that don't use DRM if you want it to work with Kindle.

Also, are torrents of good quality (Kindle level) eBooks a thing?

Yes, well, they used to be.
In days of old I used Le Bay of Pies to get .mobi versions of some books I already had physical versions of.

It has been a long time since I sailed on that ship though, so maybe it isn't a thing anymore?

Ah yes good point. Wasn't sure if @mashton had already purchased the device, if not then he could buy a non-kindle one at least, not sure who does the best non-kindle e-ink now.

If I didn't already own a Kindle, then If probably get a Kobo.

But I do. Grrr

It seems to me that this should be being addressed by the publishers. So that every physical book had the option of an eBook purchase as well.

I bet that what is holding them back is the stupid old "fear of piracy" rather than "out compete the pirates with a convenient and well priced service" bullshit. I worked at EMI in the early noughties so know this only too well.

Is there a shop in London that has a good selection of fashionably coloured 425 (3mm) paracord, and sells it by the metre?

Lib Gen is a an excellent repository of ebooks in many formats. Obviously you should only download books that you have already purchased, as an extra copy for safekeeping.

So that every physical book had the option of an eBook purchase as well.

I think Verso Books does this. And also discount sales every year where the e-books are stupid cheap (and non-DRM).

Not certain but I would try Arthur Beale chandlery and Kleins haberdashery - if they don't they can probably suggest where does

Verso Books

Precisely the right model.

Well done them. Let's hope they disrupt the majors.

Arthur Beale close to shutting their shop for good, but not sure if it’s happened yet.

Chas Newens in Putney would probably be the next closest chandlery.

Why would fear of piracy prevent this? I don't see why a free ebook (included as part of a physical purchase) should/would be any less secure than a normal purchased ebook?

Oh it's not rational. But I have seen firsthand the notion that "If we sell lots of eBooks digital albums there will be more chance of illegal copies being made. Let's just throw more and more DRM at the problem and make the experience shit for the consumer, whilst the piracy experience for them is both free and more convenient."

It killed EMI and I saw BBC Worldwide beginning to make the exact same mistakes in the early days of digital video.

Ta for the paracord tips, I shall make Beale's my first, ah, port of call.

Edit: bugger, you're right... they closed down last Thursday. Shame, such a beautiful and useful shop.

Just checked and Kleins is also closed. FFS. There is another big haberdasher on Poland St, if you are in the area worth trying Liberty's and John Lewis haberdashery too.

Tons of stuff on eBay and also check local militaria shops.

The one I've never used (thinks it a Continental) that you can have for the cost of postage?

Oh that's incredibly kind! Yes please. I'll PM you.

A normal purchased ebook can only be used on the account it's purchased with. A DRM free one could be emailed to all your mates, uploaded, torrented, etc

Whether that would really have a material impact on sales is of course another matter.