What is your personal e-reading philosophy? Buy(from where?)or Borrow?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Pragmatism says buying books and supporting authors is simple self-interest. After all, if we all pirated books, who would be writing our next read?

Exactly.

Not that I need any more next reads than I already have in my library...

[NickyWithNook]

For the most part, I read old books that are free/cheap or available on Kobo Plus or Kindle Unlimited. I read a lot, so I have both subscriptions services and read several books on each every month. I might just use Kobo Plus, but I love the British Library Crime Classics, and many of those are on KU. I also use Libby. I read Kobo books on my Kobo and Kindle books on my Kindle. I could see myself getting an android eink device at some point.

[Fbone]

I obtain almost all my ebooks from the library and read on a nook 7.8. If something is not available at the library, I may purchase it when it's on sale.

[Deskisamess]

I use the library and KU for the majority of my books. I buy very few fiction books these days. I do buy the occasional Devotional type books and Bible study books, and sometimes non-fiction. I also have plenty of public domain books on my tbr list.

Between the library and KU, my daily reading preferences are fairly well met. Our public library is well stocked with digital fiction in the genres I prefer. I only adjust or edit books that I buy, have done little of that lately.

[library addict]

I buy most of my books from Kobo or Google Play, some directly from the author. I also borrow from my library especially if I am trying a new author.

While I have purchased books in the past that are in KU I no longer do so as I don't like the exclusivity. Even if it's by a favorite author. I understand why some author's choose to go the KU route, but I wait for them to be available wide. I did one free KU trial many years ago. So it's possible at one point I may do another and read a bunch of books where the author has no plans to ever leave KU. But for most of the authors who are KU I have simply moved on and discovered new favorites.

I may one day try the Kobo Plus subscription, but currently I use my book budget for individual books since said budget is smaller than it used to be.

And I back all of my purchased books up. Learned that lesson the hard way when a storefront closed with no warning.

ETA - I read mostly on my tablet very rarely on my phone. And I listen to audiobooks via my older laptop.

[cfrizz]

I have always mostly bought all of my books since I got into ereading in 2009. My first reader was a Sony. I was never interested in a Kindle since people were already grumbling about Amazon's lock in and tactics and I just didn't want to fall into that.

So I was an epub reader from day one. I also downloaded all of my purchases to my pc from day one since I read that while the stores would keep your purchases they didn't guarantee that they would always be there. But it simply makes sense that if I bought it, it should be in MY possession!

My store was Fictionwise and I was a happy camper, until they went out of business! But I didn't have to scramble to download all of my books since I did it the day I purchased the books.

For a while I used the library, and made purchases from Kobo, then I discovered that it was possible to jailbreak my drm books on here, so I downloaded that utility as well as Calibre which allowed me to get Amazon books and convert them to epubs.

Now a days, I buy all of my books from Kobo, disinfect if necessary and enjoy all the reading I'm doing now that I'm retired. Who knows, I might even get through all of my almost 2900 books!

I like to read on my pc, but my Kobo H20 and Go 7 are getting lots of use as well.

I'm a big believer of ownership whether if it's ebooks, dvd's, blu-rays or cd's or MP3's. Anything I pay money for, I will make sure I can keep it forever!

[ps67]

I Buy mostly on Kobo because I have Kobo VIP and it is convenient for me with Kobo Super Points. I don't buy anymore ebook for Kindle because now it is too difficult read them elsewhere. I buy Physical books only when there isn't the ebook version or for some particular reason: photos, maps etc.

[Dr. Drib]

I'll make this short:

I buy ebooks wherever I want to buy ebooks - if it is something I want to read, of course..

I could care less where it comes from.

[WillAdams]

Mostly, I buy from Amazon as the path of least resistance and so as to have a single point of control.

That said, I mostly either buy using Amazon Gift Cards earned using the Microsoft Reward program and only books which are on sale, or I buy full price from authors whom I like and respect and wish to support directly.

I do download public domain texts as PDFs to read/review on my Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Pro and every so often I'll grab an ePub from Project Gutenberg or Standardebooks and send it to my Colorsoft, and I listen to free texts via Librivox on my phone using their app.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by WillAdams

Mostly, I buy from Amazon as the path of least resistance and so as to have a single point of control.

Having a single point of control is important to me too, but I use calibre for this. I've always bought from many different stores/sites and used different brands of ereaders (first Kindles, shortly a Nook, now Kobos), but I've never used either the stores or my ereaders for library management - they don't have the features for this. All my ebooks will be added to calibre immediately after purchase and all library management will be done there. This way I'm not dependent on any ecosystem and can swap ereader brands whenever I want.

Of course many people don't want to bother with any library managing or calibre, they just download and read, and usually don't mind their books being controlled and kept by the seller (or they even borrow/subscribe most of their books). Others still buy paper copies of the books they want to permanently keep. For some people, though, the thought of not owning their purchased ebooks and not being in control of their ebook libraries is abhorrent.

Preferences and mindsets differ.

[Gormagon]

Originally Posted by DNSB

After all, if we all pirated books, who would be writing our next read?

There are so many books already published one will never be able to read because life isn't endless. Do we really need new, yet unpublished books?
And since there are things like sensitivity readers in recent years I doubt that I really need new, watered down books published after sensitivity reading.

A sensitivity reader is someone hired to look for offensive content, stereotypes, and bias in a literary work, and to create a report for an author or publisher with suggested changes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitivity_reader

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Gormagon

There are so many books already published one will never be able to read because life isn't endless. Do we really need new, yet unpublished books?

Of course we do. Technology and culture change rapidly. Readers would become quickly bored if no books ever reflected those changes. I'm fine with taking occasional dips into the past, but I wouldn't want to be permanently stuck there in my fiction reading. I'm always going to need some fiction that reflects the current reality that I live in.

[graycyn]

Borrow first.

Buy if on a decent sale and I know that I'm likely to read the book/series again. I read far too much to buy every book.

Even if ebooks only cost $5 or less, that would still be a $500-600 chunk o' change yearly. I got my first library card in 3rd grade. Libraries have always been my lifeline to affording my reading habit and this has not changed in 60 years.

Of course, sometimes I see a good sale on something, and just go for it if the book sounds interesting. Likewise if it's an author I've read before and liked their work. At least once, I had a book on a library hold from a favorite series (Laurie R King's Mary Russell mysteries), spotted a good sale on the recently released title, and snagged the ebook and cancelled my hold.

If/when I buy, where is mostly the Kobo store, but sometimes also Google Play. I accumulate Google Play points weekly, there's no reason not to use them up on a book purchase when I have enough. For the same reason, before Amazon started locking things down by disallowing downloads from my content library, I sometimes bought there using Kindle points. I've also bought from independent publisher sites, authors, and even Smashwords a couple of times. As well as some long defunct vendors.

And, I happily make use of the public domain. Free, and so much great reading. Having my second go at War and Peace currently, and enjoying it immensely. Last read it over 50 years ago in high school!

As for e-readers and ecosystems, I've mostly stayed agnostic. I started with a Nook, switched within a year to a Sony, went Kobo when Sony stopped making ereaders, but also picked up a Kindle to try it out. Mostly read on my Kobo, but I also enjoy a used Pocketbook Era I picked up on eBay for a great price. I will buy whatever device works for me and my aging eyes and my general preferences.

[hildea]

Originally Posted by Gormagon

And since there are things like sensitivity readers in recent years I doubt that I really need new, watered down books published after sensitivity reading.

I'm pretty sure that you can find plenty new books with offensive content, stereotypes, and bias, if that's what you want to read

Sensitivity readers aren't all that different from any other consultant an author might hire. If your book has an important character who is a rocket scientist, you might want a real rocket scientist to take a look, to help identify things which are embarrassingly wrong or actively harmful. Same if an important character is blind, trans, a Norwegian with Pakistani grandparents, or anything else which might have a strong impact in how they the experience life, and is different from the author's experience.

(And if you don't think this kind of consultancy is useful, take a brief look at some Men writing women-list, as very obvious examples of things that can go laughably wrong when authors don't know where their knowledge ends and their ignorance begins )

[spindlegirl]

For books that I have never read before, my first idea is to borrow, (if possible). Or if borrowing is not a possibility, I see if it offers sample pages to read. I have Libby and Hoopla, and often find enough to entertain me. If I like the book, I then purchase my own copy. (or wishlist it).

My primary place where I buy ebooks is Kobo. I like the customer-friendly platform. And I like how I don't accidentally purchase a book because adding a book to my cart is a two step "are you sure?" process. And I of course, love being able to download my book to make it "really mine".

I currently have a "free trial" of Kindle unlimited (I own two readers, a kindle and a kobo), and like that over the years, Kindle unlimited has evolved to have some pretty good selections. I likely won't continue the monthly subscription because I don't seek enough books per month to make it worth it. It's taken me a long time to see the appeal of KU, but for my personal book habits it doesn't fit.

I sometimes take longer than a month to read a single selection, and many of the books I've read and enjoyed are only a few dollars, and I don't mind spending in that case.

There are very few books I'd purchase until I've become acquainted with it first, but on some occasions I'll do that.