Ebook Buying Addicts' Support Thread - Page 249

issybird · 01-20-2016, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I get anxious if I haven't acquired any new books for a while. It's ridiculous, really. I haven't bought any books since the 8th, and I feel like I ought to buy something even though I don't need anything and nothing on my wishlist is on offer.

Also, I really need to check my library more often. Two of the most expensive ebooks I bought last year are borrowable for free, I noticed when I checked their ebook catalogue a few days ago. I even waited months for their prices to drop.

I'm the opposite; the longer it's been since I've bought a book, the less likely I am to want to buy any. That's a colossal reason to resist temptation and I've found that merely adding a book to my wishlist takes the edge off the fleeting impulse (as do prices these days!). Every now and then, I'll prune the list of books that don't seem that compelling, another colossal reason to resist the immediate temptation and revisit the want after the first flush of enthusiasm.

As for the library, I've decided to get a Brooklyn library card; its OverDrive library has roughly twice as many books as my best library, Boston, and for $50 I'm sure I'll save money on the year. Part of my justification is that FLP, where I have a free card, has little to offer me these days and I remember the long hiatus in book buying there last spring, when they ran out of funds months before the end of the fiscal year.

jhowell · 01-20-2016, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

As for the library, I've decided to get a Brooklyn library card; its OverDrive library has roughly twice as many books as my best library, Boston, and for $50 I'm sure I'll save money on the year. Part of my justification is that FLP, where I have a free card, has little to offer me these days and I remember the long hiatus in book buying there last spring, when they ran out of funds months before the end of the fiscal year.

Brooklyn has a very good collection for the books of interest to me, mostly F/SF. And they are constantly adding to it with both the latest books and back catalog.

pdurrant · 01-23-2016, 04:20 AM

Double-checking my promotional credits, I find that I only have another £6.33 that must be spent before the end of January. But I do then have another £60 to be spent before 15th February.

So I'll have time to wait for more good things from Kindle Daily Deals before I must actually make some decisions about (gasp) full-price books.

Katsunami · 01-23-2016, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

Happy New Year! Here's to as abstemious a year as each poster would like; may our struggles be mild, our temptations few, and our resistance strong.

Won't be a problem for me... if there weren't any new books I would want to read, I could get through the rest of my life without ever buying a book again. I already have so many that I would probably be unable to finish everything before I die. (Thanks to Delphi Classics, mainly. There are some HUGE **** in there.)

On the other hand, if I'm still reading after my retirement and get to live another 20 years at that point, I'll be reading a book a day, probably... that would come down to reading 7300 books after retirement, almost 10 times as much as the number I have now.

Crap. Back to buying again

Fbone · 01-23-2016, 07:13 PM

I purchased 2 books this month. Using Kobo's price match service I paid $2.01 for one book and Kobo paid me $1.54 for the second. So, I am going to record 24 cents for each book on my spreadsheet. I didn't set a budget for 2016 but I admit to enjoy saving a few dollars when I can even if it takes a little effort.

Rev. Bob · 01-23-2016, 09:15 PM

I'm still wincing over my purchase of the Dark Horse Digital "Buffy's Birthday Bundle" - 159 total titles covering almost all of the post-television continuity - for $100. I already owned Season 8 in physical formats, but I haven't read a page of Seasons 9 or 10 (which isn't done yet), so getting all of that at once was helpful. Each digital "Library Edition" volume is about $14.50 for ten issues, so Season 9 alone would've been over $70. (Technical detail: the bundle didn't include the Angel & Faith LEs, but does include the constituent issues. Oddly, it contained both for Buffy Seasons 8 and 9.)

So, yeah - it's a good deal on something I wanted, but the total price is still wince-worthy. I also wish I could merge that collection into my comiXology library, just for the sake of having everything in one place that I can read with one app.

pdurrant · 01-24-2016, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rev. Bob

I'm still wincing over my purchase of the Dark Horse Digital "Buffy's Birthday Bundle" - 159 total titles covering almost all of the post-television continuity - for $100.

I have to admit to having bought that one too. But since I can't get them into calibre, I'm not counting it as a book purchase.

This is, admittedly, cheating.

DrNefario · 01-24-2016, 05:28 AM

I don't count graphic novels/comic collections as books. They have their own separate accounting.

Tarana · 01-24-2016, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I get anxious if I haven't acquired any new books for a while. It's ridiculous, really. I haven't bought any books since the 8th, and I feel like I ought to buy something even though I don't need anything and nothing on my wishlist is on offer.

Also, I really need to check my library more often. Two of the most expensive ebooks I bought last year are borrowable for free, I noticed when I checked their ebook catalogue a few days ago. I even waited months for their prices to drop.

Maybe you are suffering from hoarding withdrawal? As to expensive books, the only ones I've paid more than $8 for are medical based (i.e. diabetes) because they are never discounted until a new edition comes out (and then how useful is that?). Very often though, 3 of us split the cost since once you've read it, you don't really need it after that. This is where the library falls down - they don't have these sorts of books in ebook at all and here, the people that most need it can't read the paper copy!

No bookbuying for me (as best as I can control it) because I'm getting a Voyage on Wed. and will be getting a free month of Kindle Unlimited. I also converted my Audible account into Audible Lite for a year ($10, keep my credits and can access all the sales). My audiobook TBR should drop a lot then for the next year. Yay!

DrNefario · 01-25-2016, 08:19 AM

They still weren't all that expensive. It's all relative. They were what I consider to be normal price (£4.99), although I had to wait a few months for them to drop to that price, and the agency publishers no longer seem to agree with me that that is normal price (which is partly why I've stopped buying things).

Anyway, I went for a library loan for my current book (Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal, which is book 3 of 5, but the only one available from the library, for some reason). For me, that still counts as a +1 to my TBR until I finish or return it, so it's kind of the same as buying a book except that the balancing half of the deal has a time limit.

issybird · 01-25-2016, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrNefario

the only one available from the library, for some reason). For me, that still counts as a +1 to my TBR until I finish or return it, so it's kind of the same as buying a book except that the balancing half of the deal has a time limit.

I don't count library books as purchases for the obvious reason, but I do count them toward my paper TBR, especially since I can keep them for up to a year before the library makes me return them, so they add significantly to the clutter I'm trying to reduce. Unfortunately, given the long time limit, it's easier for me to check out a huge clutch of books at once than to have a strict on-demand system. And once they've been in the house for a while, I stop seeing them; they become part of the furniture, alas.

HomeInMyShoes · 01-25-2016, 09:56 AM

It's been 13 months since I last spent any money on a book, but this year's challenge will probably necessitate breaking that streak. I've got nine books unavailable from my library without an interlibrary request on my potential reading list for my sub-challenges right now.

So far I've requested two of them. The library is working on one and is actually going to add the other one to their collection. I don't have enough free time to read them all if they all show up at the same time.

My GoodReads shelf for to-read purchased items is down to 8 titles.

issybird · 01-26-2016, 11:11 AM

I'm tempted by several history books in Amazon's Kindle Student Deals for today, but I think I've managed to talk myself out of them, mostly on the basis of having enough to read already....

Tarana · 01-27-2016, 05:21 PM

So far this month, I am doing well. I made a goal of staying under $300US this year, which includes subscriptions. I've not renewed any subscriptions so far and will have to make those decisions before May or June when that starts coming up. So far, $30.24. My total includes my switch to Audible Lite as well as one credit (I was a bit late to switch). I've only made 2 actual purchases, one of which I finished.

I got a new Kindle Voyage yesterday. I'm not sure I'm happy with it and may regret having turned in my older Kindles. The power consumption is my biggest issue - the Kindle Keyboard doesn't need recharging for a couple of weeks (typically 3 books), but I've only read for just over 3 hours and I'm at half power with this Voyage. I'm glad I kept one Kindle keyboard for my take-a-long.

Rev. Bob · 01-27-2016, 05:28 PM

Well, this is a huge bummer. The Viggle rewards program just devalued their points in a huge way. Instead of being ebooks being priced at about 3000 points/USD, they're now 20,000 points/USD. With no notice.

If I'd known that was coming, I would've gone on a big shopping spree and really cleared the decks.

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01-23-2016, 04:20 AM	#3723
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 74,106 Karma: 315558332 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Double-checking my promotional credits, I find that I only have another £6.33 that must be spent before the end of January. But I do then have another £60 to be spent before 15th February. So I'll have time to wait for more good things from Kindle Daily Deals before I must actually make some decisions about (gasp) full-price books.

01-23-2016, 07:13 PM	#3725
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,298 Karma: 101697116 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	I purchased 2 books this month. Using Kobo's price match service I paid $2.01 for one book and Kobo paid me $1.54 for the second. So, I am going to record 24 cents for each book on my spreadsheet. I didn't set a budget for 2016 but I admit to enjoy saving a few dollars when I can even if it takes a little effort.

01-23-2016, 09:15 PM	#3726
Rev. Bob Wizard Posts: 1,760 Karma: 9918418 Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Here on the perimeter, there are no stars Device: Kobo H2O, iPad mini 3, Kindle Touch	I'm still wincing over my purchase of the Dark Horse Digital "Buffy's Birthday Bundle" - 159 total titles covering almost all of the post-television continuity - for $100. I already owned Season 8 in physical formats, but I haven't read a page of Seasons 9 or 10 (which isn't done yet), so getting all of that at once was helpful. Each digital "Library Edition" volume is about $14.50 for ten issues, so Season 9 alone would've been over $70. (Technical detail: the bundle didn't include the Angel & Faith LEs, but does include the constituent issues. Oddly, it contained both for Buffy Seasons 8 and 9.) So, yeah - it's a good deal on something I wanted, but the total price is still wince-worthy. I also wish I could merge that collection into my comiXology library, just for the sake of having everything in one place that I can read with one app.

01-24-2016, 05:28 AM	#3728
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,210 Karma: 12029046 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	I don't count graphic novels/comic collections as books. They have their own separate accounting.

01-25-2016, 08:19 AM	#3730
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,210 Karma: 12029046 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	They still weren't all that expensive. It's all relative. They were what I consider to be normal price (£4.99), although I had to wait a few months for them to drop to that price, and the agency publishers no longer seem to agree with me that that is normal price (which is partly why I've stopped buying things). Anyway, I went for a library loan for my current book (Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal, which is book 3 of 5, but the only one available from the library, for some reason). For me, that still counts as a +1 to my TBR until I finish or return it, so it's kind of the same as buying a book except that the balancing half of the deal has a time limit.

01-25-2016, 09:56 AM	#3732
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	It's been 13 months since I last spent any money on a book, but this year's challenge will probably necessitate breaking that streak. I've got nine books unavailable from my library without an interlibrary request on my potential reading list for my sub-challenges right now. So far I've requested two of them. The library is working on one and is actually going to add the other one to their collection. I don't have enough free time to read them all if they all show up at the same time. My GoodReads shelf for to-read purchased items is down to 8 titles.

01-26-2016, 11:11 AM	#3733
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,367 Karma: 235205657 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: Mini, H2O, Glo HD, Aura One, PW4, PW5	I'm tempted by several history books in Amazon's Kindle Student Deals for today, but I think I've managed to talk myself out of them, mostly on the basis of having enough to read already....

01-27-2016, 05:21 PM	#3734
Tarana Wizard Posts: 4,042 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	So far this month, I am doing well. I made a goal of staying under $300US this year, which includes subscriptions. I've not renewed any subscriptions so far and will have to make those decisions before May or June when that starts coming up. So far, $30.24. My total includes my switch to Audible Lite as well as one credit (I was a bit late to switch). I've only made 2 actual purchases, one of which I finished. I got a new Kindle Voyage yesterday. I'm not sure I'm happy with it and may regret having turned in my older Kindles. The power consumption is my biggest issue - the Kindle Keyboard doesn't need recharging for a couple of weeks (typically 3 books), but I've only read for just over 3 hours and I'm at half power with this Voyage. I'm glad I kept one Kindle keyboard for my take-a-long.

01-27-2016, 05:28 PM	#3735
Rev. Bob Wizard Posts: 1,760 Karma: 9918418 Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Here on the perimeter, there are no stars Device: Kobo H2O, iPad mini 3, Kindle Touch	Well, this is a huge bummer. The Viggle rewards program just devalued their points in a huge way. Instead of being ebooks being priced at about 3000 points/USD, they're now 20,000 points/USD. With no notice. If I'd known that was coming, I would've gone on a big shopping spree and really cleared the decks.