Back in the good old days, customers bought books at bookstores. If someone enjoyed a book, he or she would probably lend it to a friend to read. They might even have bought a second or third copy to give as gifts on specialoccasions. _(1)_ They pay electronically and then download them to readingdevices. Within seconds, people are happily enjoying the latest books by their favorite authors. The problem is that once a book has been converted into any kind of e-reader format, it can easily be uploaded to illegal file-sharing sites. _(2)_ Just like what happened with the movie and music industries, book publishers are nowfeeling the pinch. No one knows exactly how much money publishers are losing because of piracy. _(3)_ As a solution, companies could try to track down every individual who illegally downloads books and sue them. _(4)_ Another idea is that publishers could offer e-books at significantly cheaper prices and hope that this encourages people to pay for a legal download. _(5)_ The invention of e-books has made selling various kinds of publications easier than ever before, but publishers now understand that it's both a blessing and a curse.
(A) It doesn't take long to learn how to download e-books illegally, and millions of people are doing it every day. (B) The prices of books have risen over the years. (C) Everyone agrees that it's a lot and it's a problem that's unlikely to go awayanytime soon. (D) It's hard to say if this strategy will work because anything that is free is still much cheaper than a bargain. (E) Today, however, many people purchase e-books from websites. (F) Considering this means millions of people, this option isn't very practical.
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