Ebook Buying Addicts' Support Thread

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Melon Soda

With a helpful tip from another forum member here, I've discovered and downloaded Calibre to manage all my ebooks, which makes things so much easier, neater and more organized for me! At least now I won't get "lost" in my e-library when it keeps expanding, though I doubt it'd hit 700+ ebooks!

You will hit 700 e-books at some point. I did, a short while ago, and I'm now at 735.

This is when counting each of my 56 Delphi Classics as one book. Each of those could contain 20 or more novels. My Delphi Classics are an entire library by themselves.

[PurpleStar]

Originally Posted by BuyMore

I've had more than 650 ebooks in my library in just a little over a year. Looking at your buying rate (especially with the coupons), I think you can easily hit 700+ ebooks in a couple of years' time.

I have thousands in my calibre library. Of course about 85% of them are freebies. I'd never be able to buy that much.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

I have thousands in my calibre library. Of course about 85% of them are freebies. I'd never be able to buy that much.

It's amazing how quickly the purchases add up!

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It's amazing how quickly the purchases add up!

Fortunately, I don't really have a wishlist apart from a fantasy series here or there that I encounter on MobileRead. I accumulate some books, and then when there are large Kobo codes, I go on a book buying spree, getting books for €50 or €100 at once.

After that, I don't buy anything for months at a time.

I wonder who actually pays the difference between the normal and discounted price when using Kobo codes. Whose cut is going down; Kobo's, the publisher's, the author's, or all of them? You can't make a lot of money on a €0.40 book if you have to split it between three parties...

[kristalana]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I wonder who actually pays the difference between the normal and discounted price when using Kobo codes. Whose cut is going down; Kobo's, the publisher's, the author's, or all of them? You can't make a lot of money on a €0.40 book if you have to split it between three parties...

For the contest codes, it's Kobo's, which I learned in the Kobo discounts thread. We were talking about it during the last contest because they drastically cut back the frequency of the high value coupons.

[Fbone]

I noticed Amazon no longer tells you how many books you have in the updated "Manage Your Content" page. This may have been done purposely by design so people don't notice their hoarding or overspending and stop buying books.

[issybird]

I doubt I'll be purchasing any books today, so here's my June roundup.

It's not a catastrophe, but it's still not very good. I bought seven books for a total of $18. The outlay's not the issue.

First, while I've read 11 books this month, only two were purchased ebooks; the rest were pbook, library, audio, and pd. So, a net addition to my TBR, yet again. And on sober reassessment, of the seven books I bought, only two were "needs" (hahahaha) in the sense that I'd like to get to them soonish. They were the two most expensive books I bought, also, for $4/each with a 65% Kobo coupon. And there's the humbling lesson - I'm still buying books based on price. I need to internalize the concept that the more I'm willing to pay for a book, the more I can justify the purchase.

Time to muster my resolve and try for a clean second half for 2014, which would mean only buying books that I intend to read pretty much NOW. Given the number of books in my TBR, buying for inventory is idiotic and can't be justified under any circumstances.

[Melon Soda]

Originally Posted by BuyMore

I've had more than 650 ebooks in my library in just a little over a year. Looking at your buying rate (especially with the coupons), I think you can easily hit 700+ ebooks in a couple of years' time.

Lmao, that's what I'm afraid of!!

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The nice thing about ebooks is that they don't take up physical space and they don't decay and they're easy to transport. You can buy them when they're on special offer and read them at your leisure. 20 paid-for ebooks is perfectly sensible as a start on a reasonable TBR pile, so that you have something good to read while waiting for the next sale or special offer. You only have to watch out when your TBR pile grows to more than a years worth of reading, IMO.

I have to agree that the space saving and non-decaying aspects are some of the things that I like about e-books. I have a small shelf that's so stuffed with yellowing/aging books that sometimes I have to dig out a whole chunk of books just to find one particular book. It's so much easier and neater to organize them on Calibre! It's truly amazing how quickly the purchases add up (and how quickly the wishlist grows!)

Originally Posted by Katsunami

You will hit 700 e-books at some point. I did, a short while ago, and I'm now at 735.

I'm trying to restrain myself now (or maybe I'm just gearing up for the next Kobo contest? LOL! ). But I've been downloading most of the free e-books I see on Kobo... even so, I think it'll be quite a while before I hit 700. By then, I don't even want to think about how I'm going to browse through all of them even on Calibre LOL!

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by issybird

Given the number of books in my TBR, buying for inventory is idiotic and can't be justified under any circumstances.

I think this is, perhaps, my problem too. I must try to only buy ebooks I really want to read in the next month.

[Quake1028]

Originally Posted by Quake1028

Pretty happy so far this year. I have only bought 10 books through the first 4 months, and have only spent $19.91 total on those 10.

Half year update: 14 books total for $19.91 out of pocket, for an average of $1.42. Now, I am cheating a bit in that I am not counting my $23.15 Kindle credit that I have spent $22.00 of, but I am really only concerned with out of pocket expenses. Even if I DID count that, I am only at $41.91 for 14 books, or an average of $2.99. My wife, who is almost a non-reader, has bought 2 books this year for $14.83 total ($15.98 out of pocket, she spent the other $1.15 of my Kindle credit).

So, all in all, a great half year!

[issybird]

July 3 and I've bought no ebooks this month. This is easy! Some 7½% of the month gone already.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by issybird

July 3 and I've bought no ebooks this month. This is easy! Some 7½% of the month gone already.

And I've already bought three! Although these are subscription items: Grantville Gazette, Lightspeed Magazine and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

And I expect to get another two subscriptions later this month: Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine and Analog: Science Fiction/Science Fact

But apart from those five, I only have two other books that I'm intending to buy this month.

Oh, and I also expect to read this month's Pheonix Pick freebie.

If I can keep additions to my TBR to single figures this month I'll be really pleased!

[PurpleStar]

Originally Posted by issybird

July 3 and I've bought no ebooks this month. This is easy! Some 7½% of the month gone already.

Me either, but then I've been too busy to read much of anything, unfortunately.

[DrNefario]

I've bought 1 ebook, and cancelled 1 pre-ordered ebook. (So I could buy the hardback and get it signed by the author, making it the most expensive fiction book I've bought for years. I thought about still getting the ebook, too.)

I also got 11 new items in the Retro Hugo Voter Packet, so my TBR has taken a beating already.

[CRussel]

I bought one already when the price dropped to $8.99, and have two more on my Amazon Wishlist, since they're on special this month for $1.99. And that's enough for a while. Except that I am going to buy the Baen Bundle this month. I've thought about getting just the individual books via Kobo coupons, but there are enough books in this bundle that I want, I think I'll buy from Baen. Plus, I know the authors do get somewhat more on Baen bought books, though the difference is small.