What Jeff Bezos Does in the Bathtub

Journalist and author Deborah Solomon, who has a regular Q&A feature in the Sunday New York Times Magazine, collars Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for a mini-interview in this morning's edition.

When asked to comment on Kindle's competitor Nook he properly declines until his interlocutress provokes him with the observation that, unlike the Kindle, a book on the Nook can be lent.

"The current thing being talked about is extremely limited," he reminds Solomon. "You can lend to one friend. One time. You can’t pick two friends, not even serially, so once you’ve loaned one book to one friend, that’s it."

This surprises the journalist who, like a courtroom lawyer, should never ask a question to which she doesn't know the answer. "You have to pick just one person? What are you saying? It’s like 'Sophie’s Choice'?"

"It is 'Sophie’s Choice'," replies Bezos. "Very nicely done." Touché!

Solomon also challenges Bezos when he tells her that Amazon takes a 65% cut of revenue from self-published digital books published by Amazon. "And Amazon keeps 65 percent?" she exclaims. "That sounds like a lot."

"Does it?" Bezos replies. "You’re an author, what does your royalty check look like? Are your royalties 35 percent?" Touché encore!

Bezos reveals how he reads a Kindle in the bathtub, and why it's infinitely better than reading a paper book there. A clue is provided by Chris Steib, pictured above, whose experiment was reported in Print is Dead.

To read the all-too-brief Q&A, read Questions for Jeffrey P. Bezos by Deborah Solomon.

RC

Every Blogger owes a debt of gratitude to newspapers and magazines. This posting relies on original research and reporting performed by The New York Times.