Quote:
Originally Posted by Deskisamess
I wonder, and this is without any knowledge of publishing etc, if the swing will continue to borrowing programs. I can read 3-5 books in a week in a couple of the genres I like for lite reading. Even at $3-5 a book, I can't afford to buy those books, nor do I want to. KU really suits my reading style.
For books not in KU, my public library fills the bill. I don't need to buy the majority of the books I may read, and when I do want to buy a book, I can handle a $10-12 price, more for non-fiction lengthy stuff that I know took years of research to put together.
I will sometimes like a book so much I want my own copy. But this isn't the norm.
It's like music...why amass a huge library of music/books when I can borrow/stream as part of existing subscriptions? For my way of listening/reading, these options work well.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pdurrant
If KU included the major publishers, I'd be with you.
As it is, although I also get through around 3 books a week, I have enough of a backlog that I can wait for special offers for new buys. This year so far, my modal cost of a book is £0.99, my mean cost is £1.88, and my monthly spend is averaging £9.93.
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I’m in the three-books-a-week camp (if I count audiobooks), but KU also is not for me; I don’t read indies and I read very little genre fiction (although Covid has had me read more mysteries than I’ve read in years). However, I agree with you that I don’t need to own most of the books I read; I only buy a book these days if I can’t get it from OverDrive* (or a copy from the real library, but Covid has limited my options on that front). But as with Paul, I have such a huge backlog of unread books that I can wait on and hope for a price drop in most cases. Some of my wishlist books are quite cobwebby.
I’ll play the stats: my modal cost is $2, my mean cost is $6 and my average monthly outlay has been $15.
*I’ve noted in recent years that my read books tend to fall out in near-thirds among purchased books; OverDrive and public domain; and audio (I don’t break out borrowed/bought for audio).