Ebook Buying Addicts' Support Thread

[DrNefario]

I have now bought 3 books at £0.99 each with my £3 credit. Will I be able to let the last 0.03 expire? I suspect not.

[Tarana]

I'm sorry to say that I'm still buying more books in a month than I read. Not so bad in June, but for the first half of the year, I've been pretty pathetic. Even being very specific about authors I already know or series continued, I've acquired 200 ebooks/audiobooks since the beginning of the year. I've read 77 books, so you can see how this is going, darn it! Anyway, I can only do better in July. One advantage is that, due to the heat, I'll be inside A LOT which makes it easier to listen and read. Mom and I are still downsizing so that takes up hours every day. Even found ANOTHER two boxes of my late sister's books (that makes 61 now). My sister's bf will pass those on to various Little Libraries to interest folks in science fiction.

[PurpleStar]

I have done it again as well. No more! Even if they’re 99 cents. Just say NO! I have hundreds of e-books already.

[haydnfan]

Hey you never know when that bargain turns out to be worthwhile. I finally read a couple of ebooks that had been on my tbr for 5-6 years that I didn't think I would ever get to. And that means that I've read everything I purchased from Kobo in that year. I found a picture I took when I bought a bookshelf several years ago and I was pleased to see that even though it seems like I have a problem with buying more than I read I had read all but two books in that photo. And that included the entire Malazan Book of the Fallen series. And I'm not flexing. I'm sure that you all read more than I do. I get very busy except during the summer.

I think that if any of you looked over your purchase history you would probably see that you don't have as much of a problem as you think you do.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by haydnfan

I think that if any of you looked over your purchase history you would probably see that you don't have as much of a problem as you think you do.

Nope. That’s a totally unwarranted assumption.

Hundreds of books on one’s TBR essentially means that some of them aren’t all that appealing, and certainly not as appealing as the current lust object. That you read them eventually because they’re there isn’t much of a recommendation. They’ve been considered and rejected for years. Better to aim for reading what you most want to read next, always.

[PurpleStar]

Originally Posted by issybird

Nope. That’s a totally unwarranted assumption.

Hundreds of books on one’s TBR essentially means that some of them aren’t all that appealing, and certainly not as appealing as the current lust object. That you read them eventually because they’re there isn’t much of a recommendation. They’ve been considered and rejected for years. Better to aim for reading what you most want to read next, always.

It also means I bought more books than I can even read. I wish I hadn’t because having over 300 books on there is pretty daunting. 20-30 books a year would take almost 10 years to read it all. Shouldn’t have bought so many just because they were on sale.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

Shouldn’t have bought so many just because they were on sale.

And then we all have our personal algorithm for how many sale books that would be ok to read add up to one book that you really want to read - but don’t buy because it’s “too expensive.” I’m glad I’m over that one. Not that price is no object, but that cheap books are way too expensive, a waste of time and money, both precious.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by issybird

Hundreds of books on one’s TBR essentially means that some of them aren’t all that appealing, and certainly not as appealing as the current lust object. That you read them eventually because they’re there isn’t much of a recommendation. They’ve been considered and rejected for years. Better to aim for reading what you most want to read next, always.

Speaking of assumptions…

My electronic TBR list is up in the quadruple digits, the majority of which are freebies, indies, or heavily discounted Big Five books. I have years’ worth of reading material, easily.

And I don’t regret a single one of those acquisitions, because I’ve been in a cash crunch for about four years now. If I’d stuck to a stricter regimen, I’d be well on my way to running out of choices. (Not there yet, but chewing up that backlog.) As it stands, I have a wealth of options available, something for almost any mood, and I don’t have to worry about scraping together money for something new to read.

I’ve also been processing some of those volumes recently, to get them cleaned up and ready for sideloading. If I’m “on,” I can process a couple of books a day without feeling rushed or otherwise stressed, and every day I do so chips away at the TBProcessed pile, giving me more options that I can read Right Now. Plus, that processing is calming. It’s like a puzzle with a book as the prize – some are harder than others, some prizes are juicier than others, but all of them are worthy.

I spent an hour or so this afternoon tending my Star Wars ebook garden, placing different acquisitions within the established timeline and figuring out how to deal with trilogies in that setting. I only got one book fully processed in that session, but I improved about a dozen more.

As for my immediate TBR list? Two treebooks, one reread ebook, a well-anticipated ebook (the reread’s sequel), and two more ebooks that I’m currently intrigued by. I’m fairly sure those will actually be my next six books finished, but maybe I’m wrong.

And that’s okay. They’re not going anywhere, and if one of those doesn’t do it for me, I’ve got hundreds of other choices. That’s way better than running out.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Rev. Bob

Speaking of assumptions…

I’m not seeing the assumptions. When you’ve got hundreds (or thousands) of books, they can’t all be equally appealing. Moreover, unless you acquired then all within the past year or so (ok, there’s a tiny assumption there), you have rejected most of them as your next reading choice, over and over.

My electronic TBR list is up in the quadruple digits, the majority of which are freebies, indies, or heavily discounted Big Five books. I have years’ worth of reading material, easily.

This is a very individual matter. I think that time spent on acquiring, vetting, processing freebies is a colossal waste of quality time that could be spent, I dunno, reading? The more so as most freebies/self-pubbed books are dross. But whatever works, etc., and I note you like the process. I still think fewer are more in the long run.

I’m not worried about running out of books. I’ve got a backlog, there’s the library, there’s public domain. I take a Micawberish view of it. And in the worst case scenario, even though I’m not much of a rereader I’d rather reread the quality books I own and have loved, than read a lot of crap just because it was free. Moreover, tastes change and even delivery methods fall out of favor. I look at all the now-yellowed, now-tiny-print paperbacks I’ve held onto for years and what a waste - I should have disposed of them once read. They represent a huge expenditure of effort and space over time and I’ve still got to deal with them.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by issybird

Moreover, tastes change ...

This is the biggest problem with having a very large TBR IMHO, especially books for which you've shelled out money. What you loved 5 years ago may be of little interest today.

Weirdly though, even classics that I enjoyed when I was younger don't keep my interest. I'm glad I got them free or cheap during the early Whispersync days because I now am not sure when I will get to them. Charles Dickens....where has your spark gone!?

As to paper books, I think by the end of the year, I will be paper free except for a few craft books and no more than maybe 20 cook books. I'm giving up my final novel (paperback of Sword of Shannara) to a Little Library. Thought it was gone long ago, but we have so many danged boxes it must have found its way there. Some of those books in my TBR were replacements for the paper books I had to give up because I couldn't read them any longer. So, I don't really have any guilt over those ones. The downsizing continues....

[ekbell]

I agree that it's not worth getting freebies unless they are fit to read (defined as something I'd consider worth spending a bit of money on) but I can't say I've seriously considered and rejected most of my backlog. It's more that books have gotten lost in the crowd that is my library.

My concern is less that I'll never be interested (I like the work of cataloging and storage is cheap) but rather the mundane one of spending more money then I can afford on books that I don't have time for.

[pdurrant]

I have started using the "Pick a random book" menu item in calibre to choose the next book I'll read. So far it hasn't pulled up a book I don't want to read, and it's reminded me of books in my TBR that I'd almost forgotten about.

With a TBR of 900+ it isn't so much that I've rejected the books in there as the next one to read, as I just haven't considered many of them at all.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by issybird

I’m not seeing the assumptions. When you’ve got hundreds (or thousands) of books, they can’t all be equally appealing. Moreover, unless you acquired then all within the past year or so (ok, there’s a tiny assumption there), you have rejected most of them as your next reading choice, over and over.

Suppose I go shopping and pick up a variety of entrees that will feed me for a couple of weeks. Does picking steak tonight mean I’m “rejecting” homemade soup or spaghetti? No, just means that I happen to be in a red meat mood at the moment. I’ll get to the other options in due time.

Now imagine I’m able to shop for a couple of years at a time, without worrying about spoilage. I like having a wide variety of options available, and the presence of that variety doesn’t mean I go down the list every time and consciously reject all but one thing. It just means I flip through the index and see what happens to catch my eye. Maybe I want to use the slow cooker, maybe it’s a good night to grill, or maybe it’s been a long day and I just want to pop something into the microwave. Doesn’t make any of those choices “better” than the rest – just means that regardless of what I feel like having, I’ve got something on hand that fits the bill.

Originally Posted by issybird

And in the worst case scenario, even though I’m not much of a rereader I’d rather reread the quality books I own and have loved, than read a lot of crap just because it was free. Moreover, tastes change and even delivery methods fall out of favor. I look at all the now-yellowed, now-tiny-print paperbacks I’ve held onto for years and what a waste - I should have disposed of them once read. They represent a huge expenditure of effort and space over time and I’ve still got to deal with them.

I picked my current read specifically because it was a dead-tree edition and I’d crossed paths with the author on Facebook. Zero prep, aside from finding a bookmark, and the sequel was right there with it in the stacks. Makes it an excellent choice if I don’t feel like looking at a screen.

[wandalynn]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I have started using the "Pick a random book" menu item in calibre to choose the next book I'll read. So far it hasn't pulled up a book I don't want to read, and it's reminded me of books in my TBR that I'd almost forgotten about.

With a TBR of 900+ it isn't so much that I've rejected the books in there as the next one to read, as I just haven't considered many of them at all.

I didn't know Calibre had this feature and here I am, ready to start a new book and wondering which one to choose off of my embarrassingly large tbr shelf. Now to find out which it will be.......

ETA: and the winner is - The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault!

[issybird]

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

I started off the year doing quite well. Through March, I didn’t buy many books and I was getting them read. Then the deluge. It’s tempting to blame the coronavirus; in fact, I think I will. The twin errors of too many books bought and at a time I was reading a lot of mindless junk. The latter’s the blame-it-on-Covid part.

But finally, this month, I had pulled myself together and hit the midway mark, patting myself on the back for no books bought and making some headway into the newly acquired TBR.

Yet now, keeping to my motif, Amazon has made me an offer I can’t refuse. One of those, “Here’s $5 to spend on your wishlist book” deals. I’m never going to get this PRH book more cheaply and I will read it in the very near future, so I’d be crazy not to take them up on it. But oh, I miss my late abstemiousness.