Do you buy ebook versions of books you already own? - Page 2

basschick · 05-12-2009, 08:27 PM

to a great degree, i'm with you on most of this, although i'd say depends on the book because it depends on whether i like it enough to replace it AND whether it's available.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i am trying to replace the majority of my paper books with ebooks, but i started with all the old classics in the pd (so, free). i don't want to get rid of a paper book before i have an ebook of it, in case i want to read it again.

for the rest of them, some of them i love so much i might be willing to pay for them twice, but it depends on the book. perhaps i might for a book i know i'll re-read a lot, and my paper copy is old and in bad condition, but only if the ebook is not too expensive. i don't want to pay full paper price for an ebook of a book i already paid full price for in paper. that seems crazy to me.

my biggest problem is that MOST of my books are not available as ebooks, so i suppose i have to answer "no" at least for the moment. and there are some books i want to keep my paper editions because they are nice books and i like having them, and being able to lend them, as well.

i'm trying to, but only some are available as ebooks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

At the moment, the ones I'm rebuying are those that get reread on a fairly regular basis.

why is it i'm talking to not one but TWO sock puppets in this post?

lemon lime · 05-12-2009, 10:02 PM

Like others, I've bought ebooks of pbooks I own but haven't read yet. Or something I felt like rereading, which doesn't happen often. It would be nice to go totally digital, but it isn't a high priority.

tomsem · 05-13-2009, 03:54 AM

I pretty much read only new material in ebook form. 'New' for me includes anything I have never read before, including a lot of books that have been around for awhile, copyright expired, and free, as well as recently published titles that I pay for. I find that I have little time to re-read books, no matter how much I liked them before, so I haven't bothered to purchase digital editions of anything I've already read (to the extent such editions are available).

Another disincentive to investing in ebook titles I still have in pbook form, is copy protection. I'm happy with my Kindle today, but I fully expect that I will probably want something different in a year or two, and I would like to keep my e-library as portable as possible in the meantime. I don't mind buying new titles which I know I will read only once, but for old favorites, reference titles, etc. it doesn't make sense to buy them now if they are DRM-ed, especially if I own a printed edition. Here's hoping for a more consumer friendly future...

Sweetpea · 05-13-2009, 04:02 AM

Depends on the book. Some books I love to keep reading and I'll try to replace the pbook version. Other books I'll read once or twice and aren't worth replacing (I might scan them myself though...)

ficbot · 05-13-2009, 06:56 AM

I did so twice; once for a book I wanted to re-read but the aging paperback was in so condition and the ebook was on sale, and the other time for a book I love and want to keep, but which is absolutely giant and takes up an insane amount of shelf space

Tattncat · 05-13-2009, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vsalvaggio

I often re-read books and since I now almost exclusively read ebooks I do buy the ebook version when available. The caveat being that I won't pay more than pback prices for it.

Ditto.

carld · 05-13-2009, 11:32 PM

Sometimes, but rarely.

pagansoul · 05-15-2009, 08:52 AM

Most of the books I own are comic or illustrated novels or coffee-table type books on design and art. I have a large Arts & Crafts/Mission collection, that can not be reproduced in digital form for an ereader at this time. I do have a couple of CDs that contain entire comic book series but I read them off my computer. An example is STAR TREK and MAD comics. I also have 100 years of National Geographic on CD and got rid of most of the magazines but for 10 favorites. I have National Geographic Maps on CD and the actual maps in a case. I have digital copies of Macworld magazine for the last 4 years and have no p-copies around. I still have a few Classics (Moby Dick, Dickens, Poe) book library on my shelves but have stopped buying books completely over the last 2 years.

Talldog · 05-15-2009, 10:04 PM

So far, the only ebook versions of books I own that I've purchased are the complete Sherlock Holmes and The Hobbit/LOTR. But I'd buy all the Nero Wolfe and Harry Potter books if I could.

Over · 05-16-2009, 05:13 AM

I rarely re-read any book, so there's no point in buying the same book twice, except if you just want to colect everything in electronic format, so that you can have all your books in a SD card, pen drive, DVD, whatever.

But my answer is no.

HarryT · 05-16-2009, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talldog

So far, the only ebook versions of books I own that I've purchased are the complete Sherlock Holmes and The Hobbit/LOTR. But I'd buy all the Nero Wolfe and Harry Potter books if I could.

Why did you buy the Sherlock Holmes, when you can get it here for free?

Margrete · 05-16-2009, 10:10 AM

yes, I often find myself buying the ebook version of a book I already own. The reason is often that I really want to re-read that book, and about 75% of my paperback/hardcovers are stored at my parents house untill I finish studying, so if I don't have the pback nearby I end up buying the ebook

Sometimes I go the other way. Buying the paperback of an ebook I already own.

Mrgauth · 05-16-2009, 03:47 PM

Not unless I intend to read it again. Which is very rare. I do not collect books. Even if I have a digital copy, I read it and if I determine I won't read it again, I delete it and move on. To many books to expect to read them all again so I see no need to collect books at all really unless you know you will read it again for sure.

Talldog · 05-17-2009, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Why did you buy the Sherlock Holmes, when you can get it here for free?

Because it was the first book I bought, and at the time, I was ignorant of MobileRead's library.

Now, I check here first.

And I'm one of those people who likes to reread books over time. I've read The Hobbit/LOTR 4 times over 40 years, and I'm looking forward to the 5th. My Kindle copy of Sherlock represents the 3rd time for that one.

Victoria · 05-18-2009, 08:14 AM

Yes - I've switched to e-books, and then gone back & purchased earlier ones in the series that I had already read on paper. My motivation is to have the full series in e-book, so I can get rid of the paper versions. For example Ellizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series. However, I am a re-reader.

View Poll Results: Do you buy ebook versions of books you already own?
Yes	41	23.03%
No	41	23.03%
Depends on the book	96	53.93%
Voters: 178. You may not vote on this poll

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05-12-2009, 10:02 PM	#17
lemon lime Enthusiast Posts: 30 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: Bebook, iPod touch	Like others, I've bought ebooks of pbooks I own but haven't read yet. Or something I felt like rereading, which doesn't happen often. It would be nice to go totally digital, but it isn't a high priority.

05-13-2009, 03:54 AM	#18
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,913 Karma: 27013865 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I pretty much read only new material in ebook form. 'New' for me includes anything I have never read before, including a lot of books that have been around for awhile, copyright expired, and free, as well as recently published titles that I pay for. I find that I have little time to re-read books, no matter how much I liked them before, so I haven't bothered to purchase digital editions of anything I've already read (to the extent such editions are available). Another disincentive to investing in ebook titles I still have in pbook form, is copy protection. I'm happy with my Kindle today, but I fully expect that I will probably want something different in a year or two, and I would like to keep my e-library as portable as possible in the meantime. I don't mind buying new titles which I know I will read only once, but for old favorites, reference titles, etc. it doesn't make sense to buy them now if they are DRM-ed, especially if I own a printed edition. Here's hoping for a more consumer friendly future...

05-13-2009, 04:02 AM	#19
Sweetpea Grand Sorcerer Posts: 9,707 Karma: 32763414 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Krewerd Device: Pocketbook Inkpad 4 Color; Samsung Galaxy Tab S6	Depends on the book. Some books I love to keep reading and I'll try to replace the pbook version. Other books I'll read once or twice and aren't worth replacing (I might scan them myself though...)

05-13-2009, 06:56 AM	#20
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	I did so twice; once for a book I wanted to re-read but the aging paperback was in so condition and the ebook was on sale, and the other time for a book I love and want to keep, but which is absolutely giant and takes up an insane amount of shelf space

05-13-2009, 11:32 PM	#22
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Sometimes, but rarely.

05-15-2009, 08:52 AM	#23
pagansoul Fanatic Posts: 509 Karma: 1098204 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Earth Device: iPhone5, iPad Gen3, Kobo, Kindle Fire, Kobo Vox. Samsung Galaxy Tab 7	Most of the books I own are comic or illustrated novels or coffee-table type books on design and art. I have a large Arts & Crafts/Mission collection, that can not be reproduced in digital form for an ereader at this time. I do have a couple of CDs that contain entire comic book series but I read them off my computer. An example is STAR TREK and MAD comics. I also have 100 years of National Geographic on CD and got rid of most of the magazines but for 10 favorites. I have National Geographic Maps on CD and the actual maps in a case. I have digital copies of Macworld magazine for the last 4 years and have no p-copies around. I still have a few Classics (Moby Dick, Dickens, Poe) book library on my shelves but have stopped buying books completely over the last 2 years.

05-15-2009, 10:04 PM	#24
Talldog Addict Posts: 293 Karma: 1431716 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Connecticut Device: Kindle Paperwhite, KDX Graphite, Surface Pro	So far, the only ebook versions of books I own that I've purchased are the complete Sherlock Holmes and The Hobbit/LOTR. But I'd buy all the Nero Wolfe and Harry Potter books if I could.

05-16-2009, 05:13 AM	#25
Over Wizard Posts: 1,462 Karma: 6061516 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cascais, Portugal Device: Kindle PW, Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2", OnePlus 6	I rarely re-read any book, so there's no point in buying the same book twice, except if you just want to colect everything in electronic format, so that you can have all your books in a SD card, pen drive, DVD, whatever. But my answer is no.

05-16-2009, 10:10 AM	#27
Margrete Connoisseur Posts: 66 Karma: 14906 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Norway Device: pixelar ebookreader (Hanlin V3)	yes, I often find myself buying the ebook version of a book I already own. The reason is often that I really want to re-read that book, and about 75% of my paperback/hardcovers are stored at my parents house untill I finish studying, so if I don't have the pback nearby I end up buying the ebook Sometimes I go the other way. Buying the paperback of an ebook I already own.

05-16-2009, 03:47 PM	#28
Mrgauth Addict Posts: 206 Karma: 310 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Tulsa OK Device: K3	Not unless I intend to read it again. Which is very rare. I do not collect books. Even if I have a digital copy, I read it and if I determine I won't read it again, I delete it and move on. To many books to expect to read them all again so I see no need to collect books at all really unless you know you will read it again for sure.

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05-18-2009, 08:14 AM	#30
Victoria Wizard Posts: 1,017 Karma: 19767610 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Nova Scotia Canada Device: ipad, Kindle PW, Kobo Clara; iphone 7	Yes - I've switched to e-books, and then gone back & purchased earlier ones in the series that I had already read on paper. My motivation is to have the full series in e-book, so I can get rid of the paper versions. For example Ellizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series. However, I am a re-reader.