Should e-books cost more than printed books? Maybe

A co-worker recently lent me a fantastic business book called "Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action."

I've been so impressed with the book -- and I'm only halfway through -- that I decided I needed my own copy to mark up. When you borrow a book it's not exactly kosher to start leaving your own graffiti, no matter how valuable you might think your observations are. 

Markup is where the Kindle excels. I love being able to digitally highlight important information, see "public notes"  other Kindle readers of the book have highlighted, and view the Kindle community's most popular highlights to make sure I didn't miss any major points.

That layer of digital curating and social sharing is what gives the Kindle and e-reading an edge over paper versions. 

Having said that, I was bummed when I checked Amazon and learned the hardcover version of "Start With Why" could be had for $14,68, a full $4.31 less than the Kindle version. Really? 

I had never seen a Kindle edition that cost more than the printed counterparts. And I don't know the reasons why the Kindle price for "Start With Why" was higher than the hardcover price. It could be politics (some publishers don't want to promote low-cost e-books because their margins are lower). But something tells me someone smart figured out that in some instances, an e-book can demand a higher price because there's true value in the intangibles. 

Maybe "they" took their own advice and asked themselves "why?"