>and you won't be able to "buy" a book, only rent it each time you want to read it
Then I can just start pirating them much more pervasively. Problem solved. Buying mere access to things like books and media has its uses, but to make it obligatory as an alternative to true ownership is a tendency that can go die.
I don't see how respecting one's rights (in this case one's copyright over his own works) leads to having revoked the right to buy books.
I agree that it is sad to see many online book stores moving from "selling" to "renting". But that is a completely different problem.
As a personal note, I know the pain of not being able to access scientific papers because they were behind paywalls, and I had to search for drafts to be able to read them. But that model was well in place circa 2010, thus it's and old tactic applied to a new field: books (and others).
Then I can just start pirating them much more pervasively. Problem solved. Buying mere access to things like books and media has its uses, but to make it obligatory as an alternative to true ownership is a tendency that can go die.