Quote:
Originally Posted by Catlady
Really? So when you do a search it takes you the same amount of time to look through several hundred titles--self-pubbed and traditional--as it would to look through just the several dozen traditionally published? The fact that your search results are bloated with all those extra books has made absolutely no difference to the time and effort involved?
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I hardly ever use Amazon's search engine when I'm looking for something to read. I'll use that to find a particular book quickly but not to browse.
I browse pretty much the same way I have all my life. I look through a few books and when something interests me I take a closer look. What grabs my attention might be the large print blurb or it might be the cover or, more likely, that it's from an author I enjoy. I look at a couple of reviews. I use the "look inside" feature to read a paragraph or two or three. I might or might not read some editorial reviews. If I find myself feeling like I want the book I'll buy it if the price is low or put it on my wish list if it's not and wait for it to go on sale.
I've never timed myself but offhand I'd say a typical browsing session is 5 to 15 minutes. Maybe 3 or 4 sessions will pass before I buy a book or put it on my list.
When I was young most of my book browsing was in drive in grocery stores and drug stores, which always had a book rack or two. Till I got the Kindle I read paperbacks almost exclusively. I'd read the backs of some books whose covers attracted me. With a few of those I'd look at the first page. As with Amazon, several browsing sessions would go by before I'd pick a book. I've always been good at remembering authors and titles so if I was interested in a book I'd ask my friends what they knew about it. Eventually I might buy it.
Nothing's really changed. It's still pretty much the same process. If anything it's easier and less time consuming and more effective now.
Barry