Do You Gotta Catch Em All?

anamardoll · 06-07-2011, 12:28 PM

We've got a good thread going about "voracious readers" so I thought it about time for another poll.

Poll options:

1. Free or paid, I only select books that I *know* I will want to read.
2. If it's free, I'm more likely to pick it up, but I still verify it's something I'm interested in.
3. Free books pretty much automatically go into my Calibre library, whether I ever get to them or not.

Obviously, there will be wiggle-room on these -- dicuss!

anamardoll · 06-07-2011, 12:32 PM

I'll start. I pretty much pick up anything if it's free. (This has caused issues with my Amazon/B&N Recommends, let me tell you.) There are some genres that I KNOW I don't like, and I stay away from those, but if it's in a genre I like, into the bin it goes.

This has been tremendously fun for my Collector Gene, but it DOES result in a lot of overhead. I like to get covers and metadata perfect in Calibre, and now I'm also stripping out embedded-fonts... it takes time.

But I'm happy.

DMB · 06-07-2011, 12:34 PM

Free gives a slight edge: i.e. I'm just a little bit more likely to get something if I know it's free. OTOH I don't get books unless I have good reason to think I'll like them.

AnemicOak · 06-07-2011, 12:36 PM

I used to grab anything and everything that came up free, but that's led to my libraries at Amazon and to a lesser extent B&N being cluttered with stuff I will never read (at some point I plan to permanently cull those books from my library). I now only grab the freebies that at the very least peak my interest a bit (although it doesn't always take much to peak my interest

).

elcreative · 06-07-2011, 12:41 PM

I've always worked on the principle that if, when I first see something, I think I might enjoy it then get it - I might not see it again and/or it may never be reprinted. My definite point tends to be a negative rather than a positive, if I don't think I'll read it, if it's something I have no interest in or feels like rubbish then I don't bother. Means that I probably have far more than I'll ever be able to read but you can never have too many books...

HarryT · 06-07-2011, 12:45 PM

I've reached the time in my life when, with the most optimistic outlook, I know that I'll never be able to read everything I want to in the years that remain to me

. I am therefore somewhat selective in what I read, and price is not a consideration. There are many classics I want to read for which being out of copyright and therefore available free of charge is nice, but an expensive scholarly edition with a decent introduction and good footnotes is even better.

jgaiser · 06-07-2011, 12:51 PM

I'm with Harry. There's not enough hours in a day, days in a week, weeks in a year, to read everything I *know* I want to read. Price (i.e. free) can be a determining factor, but I don't download books willy-nilly.

anamardoll · 06-07-2011, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jgaiser

I'm with Harry. There's not enough hours in a day, days in a week, weeks in a year, to read everything I *know* I want to read. Price (i.e. free) can be a determining factor, but I don't download books willy-nilly.

Well, I should clarify that I don't expect to read ALL of them. I expect to TRY all of them, and probably give up and move on to the next one within the first 50 pages.

The willy-nilly behavior stems in part from the fact that judging a book via cover is still such an inexact science.

CWatkinsNash · 06-07-2011, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elcreative

I've always worked on the principle that if, when I first see something, I think I might enjoy it then get it - I might not see it again and/or it may never be reprinted. ... Means that I probably have far more than I'll ever be able to read but you can never have too many books...

This is pretty much me. I chose the second option, but since I like a variety of genres and topics, "verifying it's something I'm interested in" doesn't do much narrowing down.

ATDrake · 06-07-2011, 01:27 PM

I'm an inveterate freebie-gatherer when it comes to those time-limited promotions offered by publishers in the stores. It really is like a Pokémon game, with bonus points if the publishers giveaway in all the major stores at once.

For other giveaway freebies, such as indie-Smashwords-with-coupon, I'm a lot more selective and pass up any that are Not Relevant To My Interests, and sometimes some which are if they look like they're poorly done.

As for how many of these things I actually read, I thought that less than 1% would have been an exceptionally generous ratio to expect.

But actually, this year so far, I've read 14 giveaways and I've gone on to purchase or wishlist works from 11 established authors, which out of the literally hundreds of store-promo freebies I've added this year alone, is a pretty good 5% or so return.

Pomtroll · 06-07-2011, 01:31 PM

2. If it's free, I'm more likely to pick it up, but I still verify it's something I'm interested in.

But I'm getting more & more selective even with the free.

shanghaichica · 06-07-2011, 02:26 PM

I'll only download something if it's of interest to me. I dont download any old rubbish simply because it's free. I've yet to read any of the free books I've downloaded however I also have just as many if not more purchased books that I've not read yet but I intend to read all the books on my kindle one day!

shanghaichica · 06-07-2011, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elcreative

I've always worked on the principle that if, when I first see something, I think I might enjoy it then get it - I might not see it again and/or it may never be reprinted. My definite point tends to be a negative rather than a positive, if I don't think I'll read it, if it's something I have no interest in or feels like rubbish then I don't bother. Means that I probably have far more than I'll ever be able to read but you can never have too many books...

I agree. I never feel guilty about buying too many books and now that I've got an ereader I can horde them as much as I want to as they don't take up any physical space (plus the OH doesnt complain as he cant see them

). Right now I have enough books to last me several years but I'm still buying more all the time.

MrsJoseph · 06-07-2011, 02:55 PM

I have a ton of freebies that I haven't read...I do take the time to see if I really want it but there are so many to get! I would say I read about 3-5% of the free books I get...

crich70 · 06-07-2011, 03:18 PM

I tend more towards getting a book if it is free (or very low priced) though I have bought a few that I wanted that weren't free. And some of them can be listed under research as well depending on genre as I can see how others have written books in that genre.

View Poll Results: Books go into your library if...
Free or paid, I only select books that I know I will want to read.	40	35.40%
If it's free, I'm more likely to pick it up, but I still verify it's something I'm interested in.	64	56.64%
Free books pretty much automatically go into my Calibre library, whether I will ever get to them or not.	9	7.96%
Voters: 113. You may not vote on this poll

06-07-2011, 12:28 PM	#1
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	Do You Gotta Catch Em All? We've got a good thread going about "voracious readers" so I thought it about time for another poll. Poll options: 1. Free or paid, I only select books that I know I will want to read. 2. If it's free, I'm more likely to pick it up, but I still verify it's something I'm interested in. 3. Free books pretty much automatically go into my Calibre library, whether I ever get to them or not. Obviously, there will be wiggle-room on these -- dicuss!

06-07-2011, 12:32 PM	#2
anamardoll Chasing Butterflies Posts: 3,132 Karma: 5074169 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: American Southwest Device: Uses batteries.	I'll start. I pretty much pick up anything if it's free. (This has caused issues with my Amazon/B&N Recommends, let me tell you.) There are some genres that I KNOW I don't like, and I stay away from those, but if it's in a genre I like, into the bin it goes. This has been tremendously fun for my Collector Gene, but it DOES result in a lot of overhead. I like to get covers and metadata perfect in Calibre, and now I'm also stripping out embedded-fonts... it takes time. But I'm happy. Last edited by anamardoll; 06-07-2011 at 12:36 PM.

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06-07-2011, 12:34 PM	#3
DMB Old Git Posts: 958 Karma: 1840790 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Switzerland (mostly) Device: Two kindle PWs wifi, kindle fire, iPad3 wifi	Free gives a slight edge: i.e. I'm just a little bit more likely to get something if I know it's free. OTOH I don't get books unless I have good reason to think I'll like them.

06-07-2011, 12:36 PM	#4
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	I used to grab anything and everything that came up free, but that's led to my libraries at Amazon and to a lesser extent B&N being cluttered with stuff I will never read (at some point I plan to permanently cull those books from my library). I now only grab the freebies that at the very least peak my interest a bit (although it doesn't always take much to peak my interest ).

06-07-2011, 12:41 PM	#5
elcreative Wizard Posts: 2,888 Karma: 5875940 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: PRS505, 600, 350, 650, Nexus 7, Note III, iPad 4 etc	I've always worked on the principle that if, when I first see something, I think I might enjoy it then get it - I might not see it again and/or it may never be reprinted. My definite point tends to be a negative rather than a positive, if I don't think I'll read it, if it's something I have no interest in or feels like rubbish then I don't bother. Means that I probably have far more than I'll ever be able to read but you can never have too many books...

06-07-2011, 12:45 PM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I've reached the time in my life when, with the most optimistic outlook, I know that I'll never be able to read everything I want to in the years that remain to me . I am therefore somewhat selective in what I read, and price is not a consideration. There are many classics I want to read for which being out of copyright and therefore available free of charge is nice, but an expensive scholarly edition with a decent introduction and good footnotes is even better.

06-07-2011, 12:51 PM	#7
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,281 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	I'm with Harry. There's not enough hours in a day, days in a week, weeks in a year, to read everything I know I want to read. Price (i.e. free) can be a determining factor, but I don't download books willy-nilly.

06-07-2011, 01:27 PM	#10
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	I'm an inveterate freebie-gatherer when it comes to those time-limited promotions offered by publishers in the stores. It really is like a Pokémon game, with bonus points if the publishers giveaway in all the major stores at once. For other giveaway freebies, such as indie-Smashwords-with-coupon, I'm a lot more selective and pass up any that are Not Relevant To My Interests, and sometimes some which are if they look like they're poorly done. As for how many of these things I actually read, I thought that less than 1% would have been an exceptionally generous ratio to expect. But actually, this year so far, I've read 14 giveaways and I've gone on to purchase or wishlist works from 11 established authors, which out of the literally hundreds of store-promo freebies I've added this year alone, is a pretty good 5% or so return.

06-07-2011, 01:31 PM	#11
Pomtroll Guru Posts: 822 Karma: 1341819 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Minnesota USA Device: Sony 350, Sony T1, Kindle Touch, Kindle PW1	2. If it's free, I'm more likely to pick it up, but I still verify it's something I'm interested in. But I'm getting more & more selective even with the free.

06-07-2011, 02:26 PM	#12
shanghaichica Guru Posts: 987 Karma: 5782970 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Scribe,Kindle Oasis 3, iPad Pro 11, iPhone 13 Pro Max,iPad mini 6, PW5	I'll only download something if it's of interest to me. I dont download any old rubbish simply because it's free. I've yet to read any of the free books I've downloaded however I also have just as many if not more purchased books that I've not read yet but I intend to read all the books on my kindle one day!

06-07-2011, 02:55 PM	#14
MrsJoseph Loves Ellipsis... Posts: 1,554 Karma: 7899232 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Washington, DC Device: Kobo Wifi (broken), nook STR (returned), Kobo Touch, Sony T1	I have a ton of freebies that I haven't read...I do take the time to see if I really want it but there are so many to get! I would say I read about 3-5% of the free books I get...

06-07-2011, 03:18 PM	#15
crich70 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,305 Karma: 43993832 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Monroe Wisconsin Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)	I tend more towards getting a book if it is free (or very low priced) though I have bought a few that I wanted that weren't free. And some of them can be listed under research as well depending on genre as I can see how others have written books in that genre.

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