Ebook Buying Addicts' Support Thread

[HLS]

i saw some collections of classics. some well over 10,000 pages each and bought a few for like 49 cents each

[ReadingManiac]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

i saw some collections of classics. some well over 10,000 pages each and bought a few for like 49 cents each

Did you cross check with Gutenberg.org? Most classics are free there.

[HLS]

I do not like Gutenberg

[DrNefario]

I think it's a false economy to buy large collections of classics, even if you don't want to get them for free from gutenberg (or here). They'll still be there when you actually want to read them, and they'll never be that expensive. Buy them when you're about to start reading them.

I ended up deleting several free classics I'd had hanging around for ages.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

I think it's a false economy to buy large collections of classics, even if you don't want to get them for free from gutenberg (or here). They'll still be there when you actually want to read them, and they'll never be that expensive. Buy them when you're about to start reading them.

I ended up deleting several free classics I'd had hanging around for ages.

I agree on all counts. Those large collections are unwieldy, also, and can be difficult to navigate and if you spend time splitting them, well, that's time that could have been spent doing something more productive. A lot of the classics packages have been compiled from Gutenberg anyway without any added value.

Obviously the outlay here is insignificant but it feeds the acquisition and hoarding mentality, when the point is to become thoughtful about purchases. This comes across more as bragging to me and not about trying to resist temptation and only making considered purchases as the ideal, anyway, even if there's the occasional slip.

[Tarana]

I'm currently reading Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding by David Tolin et.al. and find a lot of the stuff applies to electronic purchases as well as physical ones. While it IS true that sometimes something might not be there in the future (geographical restrictions or publisher removes from sale) will it really bother you later on when you have so much else to read and enjoy? In most cases, no. Obviously, it depends on your interests. So, by sticking with a regularly pruned wishlist, you can help yourself control impulse buying.

[pdurrant]

I'm doing everything right, but I'm still not getting through my TBR.

Seven books read so far this month, but also seven bought.

Three were a trilogy by an author I like that were on special offer (£0.99 each). I read them straight away, and enjoyed them
Two were next books in series that I like, one a pre-order at around half the normal price (£2.79 instead of £5.22), and the other a special offer (£2.00 down from £3.06). I'm reading one of them now.
Two were magazine issues. I've been getting these magazines for more than 10 years, and I enjoy them.

So no 'it's on offer, I might like it', no 'it looks interesting, and it's free'.

Perhaps I just need to spend more time reading...

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I'm doing everything right, but I'm still not getting through my TBR.

Seven books read so far this month, but also seven bought.

Three were a trilogy by an author I like that were on special offer (£0.99 each). I read them straight away, and enjoyed them
Two were next books in series that I like, one a pre-order at around half the normal price (£2.79 instead of £5.22), and the other a special offer (£2.00 down from £3.06). I'm reading one of them now.
Two were magazine issues. I've been getting these magazines for more than 10 years, and I enjoy them.

So no 'it's on offer, I might like it', no 'it looks interesting, and it's free'.

Perhaps I just need to spend more time reading...

Well, you commute differently now!! Asimov is now a double-issue, so you should be able to get an extra book in next month.

[HLS]

I just picked up 31 free public domain books for no reason other to have it lol I need help lol

[issybird]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

I just picked up 31 free public domain books for no reason other to have it lol I need help lol

Are you making any effort at all to acquire fewer books? Are you seriously trying to become more thoughtful about the books you get? If not, why are you posting here?

In the unlikely event you're really looking for help, delete the public domain books as DrNefario suggested. They'll be available if ever you feel like reading them.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by issybird

A delete the public domain books as DrNefario suggested. They'll be available if ever you feel like reading them.

Yes, and when you actually want to read them, you'll probably download a new version anyway, to get a version with fewer errors.

I'm probably going to have a clear-out myself before the end of the year, only keeping ones I've read.

[ReadingManiac]

One of my end of year resolutions is to start going through my collection of free acquisitions and treat them like samples. Maybe spend a month reading nothing else. I tend to delete the majority of samples without buying.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by ReadingManiac

One of my end of year resolutions is to start going through my collection of free acquisitions and treat them like samples. Maybe spend a month reading nothing else. I tend to delete the majority of samples without buying.

Whatever works for you, but. . . . It sounds like sheer torture to me. Couldn't you read your good stuff and "sample" your freebies over time, if you feel you must? Wasting a month of good reading time reading junk seems the total opposite of frugality to me.

I tend to think that, especially the larger one's freebie collection, it's most time and cost-effective to abandon the lot and start fresh, being very, very picky about adding freebies (i.e., books you'd have been willing to spend at least some money on). But if you can't bear a wholesale deletion, chipping away at it over time seems the best strategy to me, especially as you learn your lesson about the "value" of freebies in the process.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Yes, and when you actually want to read them, you'll probably download a new version anyway, to get a version with fewer errors.

That's when I use Sigil for to make the books more readable by modifying the formatting and cleaning up egregious errors. Takes about 10-15 minutes.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I'm probably going to have a clear-out myself before the end of the year, only keeping ones I've read.

I keep meaning to go through and clean out the books that I've read and will never read again. Not just the ones that to quote Dorothy Parker/Sid Ziff/etc.: “It is not a book to be lightly thrown aside. It should be thrown with great force.” but all those books that, IMO, do not offer anything to be gained by re-reading.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I keep meaning to go through and clean out the books that I've read and will never read again.

I prefer to keep even those. Just to make sure I don't accidentally buy them again!