Ebook Buying Addicts' Support Thread

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Final price after discount would be $2.50 or thereabouts? Would you read it immediately? Buying it now, would it save you from buying a future bundle?

Yes, about $2.50 (well, £1.87)

But I have several (well, dozens) of other books in my TBR pile that I want to read as much. So I might not read it immediately.

And since I've now spotted several other books from the 2012 list that I want and haven't got, I'm going to wait until next year, or until there's another multi-use high discount coupon.

Thanks!

On the bright side, it does look like I'll be able to buy from Kobo rather than Baen for about the same discount as the bundles, but without the time limit and without the bundle. If I'm willing to wait for 75%off coupons in contests. This might get me back in budget sooner than anticipated.

[CRussel]

I think I'm going to stick to bundles whenever I can. Too often when I pass up a bundle, I end up missing a book I end up really wanting to read. And after all, it turns out you got into this mess because you didn't buy a bundle.

That being said, there are months where I clearly know a bundle makes no sense at all. (I've had my fill of gun porn, no matter how well written.) In those cases, knowing the Kobo option is there is a real plus.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by CRussel

That being said, there are months where I clearly know a bundle makes no sense at all.

Well, I'm looking at the May bundle. I already own House of Steel and Portal from previous bundles.

Rogue Queen I already have and have read - it was the Phoenix Pick freebie in July 2013.

Freehold I have the first edition of, and the extra foreword or afterword of the second edition doesn't tempt me very much.

So that leaves three books. I definitely want The Sea Without a Shore.
Treasure Planet I'd rather like. Secret of the Stars would be OK, but I probably wouldn't buy as a separate item, certainly not for $8.99

So I'd probably have bought the May bundle for $6/book, reluctantly. But if I can use coupons at kobo, I can buy the one I really want only, and leave the others, knowing that I could pick them up later if I liked.

Buying at full price, the three would be $28. So I'd only need a 36+% off coupon to better the bundle pricing.

Or one 75% off coupon and a couple of 25% off coupons will save me $2. If I decide to get the Andre Norton at all.

Perhaps I'll get the book I mentioned above instead. There's only $1 difference in their retail prices, and one I really want and one I don't really care about. Hmm… putting it that way it's a no-brainer.

[CRussel]

Yeah, the May bundle isn't looking that great right now. I've got the ones you have, with the exception of Rogue Queen, which I wouldn't mind, but won't go out of my way for. Not much interest in Treasure Planet, and I'd have to read about 7 or 8 earlier books to get to where I cared about Sea Without a Shore. By then it should be cheaper. The Andre Norton book? Meh. I've got a tonne of her books here and they don't seem to be holding up for me.

All in all, I'll pass.

[PurpleStar]

I have Rogue Queen. I think it was a Phoenix Pick freebie. Is it any good?

It would probably br cheaper to buy the books you want seperately at Kobo with coupons.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

So that leaves three books. I definitely want The Sea Without a Shore.
Treasure Planet I'd rather like. Secret of the Stars would be OK, but I probably wouldn't buy as a separate item, certainly not for $8.99

The pre-order price for The Sea Without a Shore is £7.46 while the US is $9.99. Much cheaper in US if those prices hold after April 16th.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Fbone

The pre-order price for The Sea Without a Shore is £7.46 while the US is $9.99. Much cheaper in US if those prices hold after April 16th.

That's mostly the VAT, I think.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

I have Rogue Queen. I think it was a Phoenix Pick freebie. Is it any good?

It was OK. An interesting alien setup.

[bookaho!ic]

bless me for i have sinned... i got Jenny Pox JL Bryan as a Freebie, picked up the second book end of last year on kindle and converted so was in last year's figures and just relented and paid $8.98 (£5.57) for the last two in the series. damn these free first in a series that keep sucking me in lol

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by bookaho!ic

bless me for i have sinned... i got Jenny Pox JL Bryan as a Freebie, picked up the second book end of last year on kindle and converted so was in last year's figures and just relented and paid $8.98 (£5.57) for the last two in the series. damn these free first in a series that keep sucking me in lol

Well, that's not too bad as costs go for two books in a series that you really enjoy.

Umm… JL has another free ebook start of series… Fairy Metal Thunder….

[issybird]

Oy. Even with creative accounting that put the Kobocalypse in February and essentially wiped the slate clean for March, I've fallen even further behind. Since February 31, I've bought nine books for about $20. The amount is fine and the value was there, but since I'll only have read nine books this month including library books, pbooks and public domain, it mean that instead of a net reduction in my TBR, I've added to it. I made a few good decisions at the margin on books that I hope will be cheaper and/or won't be read in the near future, but clearly I'm not pulling the hairshirt near tight enough.

Frankly, I'm at a loss. I suppose that having goals in my mind is better than nothing, as it helps a bit, but it also seems a quite silly to keep making resolutions that are obviously just so much pie in the sky. I can even forgive myself for the 90% off spree, but the upward creep in my TBR under ordinary conditions, despite my resolutions, is troubling.

Do I draw a line under the first quarter and absurdly dust off my resolutions for a reduced TBR? Do I amend my goals to a more realistic level, even though "realistic" tends to mean any offer I can't refuse? Or do I just give up and stop wittering about it, since ebooks are a cheap indulgence and I can still put groceries on the table? I admit the last isn't appealing either, since I do have this sense of being virtually buried under my elibrary. The increasing accumulation makes it harder and harder to see the trees for the forest, to mix my metaphors. I really can't decide where to go from here.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by issybird

I made a few good decisions at the margin on books that I hope will be cheaper and/or won't be read in the near future, but clearly I'm not pulling the hairshirt near tight enough.

[…]

Or do I just give up and stop wittering about it, since ebooks are a cheap indulgence and I can still put groceries on the table?

All we can try to do is learn from our experiences. You have found that, although you haven't bought every interesting book that's come along, you have bought as many as you're reading.

I think this says that you need to be even more ruthless about buying books. Clearly, books that you want to read are going to be available at good prices ($20 for 9 books is excellent value) for the foreseeable future.

So I think you need to take a good look at your TBR, and compare potential purchases to the books already in your TBR. Consider how many books you read in (say) six months. Then, for any purchase, if it isn't more attractive than the current top six month's worth of books in your TBR, don't buy it.

I just wish I was as good at taking my own advice as giving it out! Still, apart from the 90% off escapade and the Lightspeed magazine offer, I have only bought my existing subscriptions this month and the Baen bundle. No new extras at all!

Mind you, that still comes to 92 books….

But in April I hope to keep my purchasing well under control.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I just wish I was as good at taking my own advice as giving it out!

Right there with you.

No new extras at all!

Congrats!

But in April I hope to keep my purchasing well under control.

Just like that perennial diet, starting next Monday!

Kobo needs to stop with the contests. Wishlists start to repopulate almost immediately and the cause of the bulk of my damage this month was a 75% off coupon--after I had entirely denuded my wishlist.

[CRussel]

Having this thread and setting some basic guidelines has helped here. Yes, I acquired more books than I read (just), but several of those were free or came along for the ride (Baen Bundle). Others were library books, and I really don't control when I get those. For example, I'm #72 out of 132 on the list for Chris Hatfield's book at the BC Downloads Library. They have 9 copies, and a maximum borrowing time of 3 weeks. No matter how I look at it, it's going to be a while before I see that book. (It's already been a while, obviously.) When it comes in, I'll grab it. But that will have an immediate impact on my TBR, and skew that month. Especially since I don't expect it to be a "fast" read. (Parenthetical off-topic query: They have an omnibus version of George RR Martin's 5 volume Game of Thrones series. How in the world do you read THAT in 3 weeks???)

So, do I think I'll EVER catch my TBR up? No, probably not. But when I get to the point of no longer being able to buy any books at all, I might start to be able to catch up. But one thing this thread has done is make me much more selective about which books I buy. And when. (He says this, knowing full well that on Tuesday he is absolutely buying Peacemaker at whatever price it is sold for. In fact, I pre-ordered it, something I almost never do.) OTOH, I am not buying any other books this week. And I'll really try for none next week. And, as we say, One Day At A Time.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by issybird

Right there with you.



Congrats!



Just like that perennial diet, starting next Monday!

Kobo needs to stop with the contests. Wishlists start to repopulate almost immediately and the cause of the bulk of my damage this month was a 75% off coupon--after I had entirely denuded my wishlist.

I have temporarily killfiled the Kobo Coupons thread. I don't even want to HEAR about any new coupons unless they're at least 80-90% AND multi-use. At which point, I'm going to quietly go into the corner and cry, but only after I go nuts again.