How do YOU "shop" for your next Kindle read?

[KenIsaacson]

How do you shop for your next Kindle read? Do you already know what you're going to buy when you arrive at the Kindle Shop?

Do you ever browse what's available? From your device, you can browse the bestseller, and you can narrow the browse by category and sub-category. I'm curious how many people actually take advantage of that feature.

Thoughts? Comments?

Thanks.

Ken Isaacson

[mldavis2]

I usually accumulate a list of titles from book clubs, friends and other references such as the NY Times booklists and such. Seldom, if ever, do I simply browse and allow myself to be influenced by cover art or advertising propaganda.

[wyndslash]

goodreads, browsing, etc

[Ravensknight]

Not a kindle owner [at least not yet], but I rely on Goodreads and word of mouth from like minded reader friends...

[Ron.]

I go to the bestseller lists and look at the top 100 free for anything new on the list Other then that just word of mouth, a book might be mentioned here that interests me etc...

[Anke Wehner]

I don't have a Kindle.

I find a lot of what I try here at the forum (the deals/freebies or the author self-promotions sections), or from people whose blogs I follow, who occasionally post reviews.
I'm still getting used to Goodreads.

[elcreative]

With my ereader, I read the books on it... if I'm looking for new reads then I use my computer... more relaxing, easier to comfortably search and I can then D/L to computer and put on reader at my leisure but then I have absolutely no interest in having WiFi on my reader (i have a tablet if I need that) and equally no interest in paying & D/Ling a proprietary formatted, DRM locked book...

[Diana495]

Goodreads, recs from friends, and reviews from blogs I trust. And by publisher. I read a ton of romance books, and there are several publisher brands that I keep track of, e.g., Loose Id, Ellora's Cave, Samhain, Carina/Harlequin.

I don't usually browse on the Kindle, but I do on occasion browse through Amazon on my laptop. I find their Listmania/So You'd Like to lists to be very useful.

[ATDrake]

The library, and my own bookshelf, usually.

Given how much e-books usually cost in relation to the restrictions on them, I find I usually buy works I've previously read and want my own copy of from trusted authors I've already tried.

For lower-cost DRM-free e-books like a lot of the backlist stuff that's been popping up, I'm willing to take a "sight unseen" chance if the author has a very good reputation/I've already read and enjoyed another work of theirs.

But generally, I don't pick up totally new stuff from an author unknown to me unless it truly is dirt cheap and I've tried a substantial sample and/or otherwise trust the imprint to have good taste and quality selection.

I never buy anything via the device, and always shop via the website.

[Worldwalker]

I don't, because I don't have a Kindle.

[bevdeforges]

I tend to check the book reviews in various publications (Guardian Weekly, NY Times, The Economist) and various recommendations I see online (here, e-mails from friends, etc.). When I see something that looks interesting, I check it out on Goodreads and then stick it in my Wish list (on the Sony book store and/or Kobo) and wait until the price comes down to a point I'm willing to buy. I do check the recommendations on Amazon (I'm on 3 or 4 of the sites currently).

I like to stay 6 to 8 books ahead of myself in terms of what I have loaded on my reader and ready to go.

[crossi]

I'm rebuying my paper library so I browse Kindle Books-Fiction-Coming Soon and Last 30 Days. Any book wether a rebuy or a new book that has first a cover/title that catches my eye then a description that sounds interesting goes into my Wish List with the current price noted and a priority based on price group. Highest priority is for books $6.99 or less. Next highest is for $7.99 books. When looking to buy I sort my list by priority and pick from the highest priority. I have imported my list to ereaderiq so I'm notified of price drops.

[wvcherrybomb]

Mostly from goodreads. Occassionally I will browse Amazon by keyword.

[dreams]

Originally Posted by KenIsaacson

How do you shop for your next Kindle read? Do you already know what you're going to buy when you arrive at the Kindle Shop?

Do you ever browse what's available? From your device, you can browse the bestseller, and you can narrow the browse by category and sub-category. I'm curious how many people actually take advantage of that feature.

Thoughts? Comments?

Thanks.

Ken Isaacson

I don't own a kindle. I purchase mostly ePub and try to purchase only DRM free.

One of the things I love about MR is that we are an international forum of many devices and we are not kindle centric. I can see authors that publish at more sites. I look for books that are mentioned here, check out review blogs by some of our members that give honest reviews and don't pay attention to sales ranks. I especially avoid authors that only publish in the kindle store (or only link or mention that is where the book is), as I feel they are ignoring a large population of other readers.

Sales ranks or best seller ranking doesn't reflect how much I will like a book.

I always have a large TBR list and never find that I am out of books to read right now. So, I only go looking when I already know what I am looking for to add to my TBR list.

My sis-in-law has a device that allows browsing, but doesn't use it; she found it frustrating and slow. I use my computer to check various stores and then just purchase, as I never have to have the book, right now. I just reload when I have finished a few books and it is time to recharge.

[Shack70]

Definitely use Goodreads and go from there.