Ebook Buying Addicts' Support Thread

[ownedbycats]

I got my GST refund, so I splurged a little. I got a Kobo Plus subscription and a bunch of books from my wishlist.

To be fair, my problem is not so much buying eBooks but downloading way too much fanfiction.

[Tarana]

I'm suffering from Audible withdrawal, but I will prevail! They did offer me a good exit deal, just like last time, but I was strong and resisted. This will give me time to focus on what I already own that is unlistened. Not renewing until at least October, preferably November.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Tarana

I'm suffering from Audible withdrawal, but I will prevail! They did offer me a good exit deal, just like last time, but I was strong and resisted. This will give me time to focus on what I already own that is unlistened. Not renewing until at least October, preferably November.

I’m sitting on the $100 for a year offer; it’s a good deal but it’s also a big outlay and I’ve got so many unheard books already (and borrow a lot from OverDrive and Hoopla as well). What’s tempting right now is that some premium plus books are of high interest and they’re some of the relatively few not also available at Hoopla. The year would give me ample time to enjoy them for nothing, so to speak, rather than joining for a month or two and bingeing, which is not how I like to experience books.

But there’s always another deal.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by issybird

But there’s always another deal.

I think this is worthy of the first post. Adding it now!

[pdurrant]

I have bought 26 books so far this year. And I'm pleased with all the purchases! Luckily I've also read 38...

Even with all the guidelines from the first post, I still find I'm buying lots of books. But at least now they are books I really want, and that I don't regret buying.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Even with all the guidelines from the first post, I still find I'm buying lots of books. But at least now they are books I really want, and that I don't regret buying.

This is the bottom line.

I bought my sixth book of the year yesterday; I’ve read two. My goal is still to read all the books I purchase this year. I’ve got one series book that I might hold in abeyance; the truth is that now that I’m in the middle of the one before, I realize I’ve grown rather tired of it. A mini lesson there about not getting too far ahead.* But otherwise, so far, so pretty good.

*ETA: This is among the strategies in the first post. Sigh.

[ownedbycats]

I just went on a spree of downloading free eBooks. Well, it didn't cost anything? And they're all ones that look somewhat interesting to begin with. If I start downloading stuff I'd never read, I might have more cause to worry.

But I did end up adding a few more books to my exponentially-growing wishlist.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I just went on a spree of downloading free eBooks. Well, it didn't cost anything? And they're all ones that look somewhat interesting to begin with. If I start downloading stuff I'd never read, I might have more cause to worry.

But I did end up adding a few more books to my exponentially-growing wishlist.

Free ebooks are a slippery slope. You have to be very selective or you end up with a lot of trash that takes away from good books and books you paid for. In addition, your cloud library gets really full over time. Two or three years ago, I culled most of the free books from my Amazon cloud and those still of interest went into a Calibre library marked FREE BOOKS. Then deleted out of the cloud. If I read one of those books and really liked it, Amazon Customer Service will restore the book to my library (you just search for the order number in your orders). Once in a while you hit on something good. Author Will Wight had most of his books for free for a brief time last year. Glad I got them all because I really liked that first story. Eventually, I will get to the rest.

Generally, I don't count free books in my TBR unless they were backlist for series already reading.

[ownedbycats]

Thankfully, the fact that I have to fix all the books' metadata in Calibre (series names in titles, yuck) prevents me from going too crazy.

[ownedbycats]

I also like to give myself ultimatums that I am not allowed to get any more books unless my Cleanup virtual library in Calibre is empty. It does help a bit.

[issybird]

It’s the last day of the month, so I’ll anticipate a bit. I bought one book in April for a total of six so far this year and and outlay of $22. That’s fine; I can quibble a bit with individual choices, but the aggregate is well within acceptable boundaries. If I can keep to this level, this will be my best year for number of books purchased and second best for cash outlay. Unfortunately, my TBR is down only a paltry nine books.

Good news/bad news: I’ve let a boatload of coupons go; the books on my wishlist are either tired or too pricey even with a deal. That’s the good. However, I anticipate making a few purchases in May, but at least one will be with Google Play money, i.e., effectively free.

[DrNefario]

I also bought just one book in April, bringing me up to 10 for the year. This makes my percentages very easy to calculate, so it would be nice to stay at 10 for a while, but on the other hand, my birthday is in May, so I don't rate my chances.

[DNSB]

Hmmm.... Looking at my purchases for 2021, I'm at 238 books. Part of this was picking up quite a few books from Kobo Plus. Unlike Kindle Unlimited, there does not seem to be a limit on the number of books you can borrow so I'm up to 200 or so Kobo Plus books since I signed up for the program.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Unlike Kindle Unlimited, there does not seem to be a limit

Kindle Unlimited...has a limit...

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Kindle Unlimited...has a limit...

Perhaps I should have said "at one time". Kindle Unlimited allows a maximum of 10 books checked out at one time, Kobo Plus may have a limit but I haven't run into it as yet.