no, i do not suffer fools gladly
There is a difference between pirating books and copying them into digital format for a perusal service entirely conforming to copyright laws. At the risk of being platitudinous: it's for the Greater Good. Information wants to be free: and why should any writer wish not to be read - or perhaps more accurately, judiciously browsed? Google is merely creating a virtual library. They even offer the option for withdrawal, should any author (stupidly) decline the honour of inclusion.
And the benefit of inclusion? Exposure. Introducing millions of readers to millions of perhaps previously-unknown books can only expand the market. But it's really more than that. Google is pioneering a way to make the sum wealth of humanity's literature available, searchable, and therefore coherent. They're not fucking "infringing copyright". They are organizing what we know as human beings, and that's an endeavour that should be supported by all those who possess even the smallest iota of pride for the human mind.
Fools! bah.