Ebook Buying Addicts' Support Thread

[Tarana]

I finished off the month buying 14 books (7 part of Baen bundle) but read 11 (plus 26 short stories+novellettes!) So, a +3 in my TBR. A lot of the short stories were freebees or under a dollar, so I'm doing a lot of clearing on my Audible account. With almost 800 audiobooks and limited search functions at Audible, I started listing them into a separate Calibre library. After I get them all listed, I'll download the metadata for them all. Just like with the Amazon books, I'm clearing out anything I won't likely read again and all the freebees that aren't part of one of my regular series.

[CRussel]

I just had a rough day, but it's a February day, so I don't have to feel guilty if I manage to control for the rest of the month.

A new Ben Aaronovitch is available in North America, along with a new Wen Spencer in a few days (so I pre-ordered) and I saw a deal on the first in a series that's the next triad of a series I recently finished. But that's 3 books in one day.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by issybird

I never thought of time spent in bookstores as time wasted.

What I wish is that I'd not carried over my pbook buying habits to the etherworld. It made sense to have a substantial backlog of pbooks, so that not only would I always have something to read, I'd always have a selection so I could suit the mood of the moment. This is, as we know, unnecessary with on-demand buying. But I still seemed to have the same level of "what will I read next?" insecurity, compounded by the lack of the physical brake created by stacks of books.

Yeah, I know, bargains. But only if they get read at some point!

I also do not consider time in a bookstore as wasted time. It was driving all over looking in any store, including minimarts, that had a rack of books.
Apache

[issybird]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I just had a rough day, but it's a February day, so I don't have to feel guilty if I manage to control for the rest of the month.

A new Ben Aaronovitch is available in North America, along with a new Wen Spencer in a few days (so I pre-ordered) and I saw a deal on the first in a series that's the next triad of a series I recently finished. But that's 3 books in one day.

Take heart, Charlie, February's a short month! I think it's probably better (at least it would be for me) to buy everything you were going to buy at once. Now you can get back on the express wagon, rather than the local.

I've seen several Kindle deals that have tempted me, but I've found that I don't want to halt my momentum unless it's for something major, a feeling I want to nurture. One of these days, when I can no longer convert to epub, it will cease to trouble me!

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Apache

I also do not consider time in a bookstore as wasted time. It was driving all over looking in any store, including minimarts, that had a rack of books.
Apache

I miss bookstores. I especially miss serendipity, when you'd come across a book you'd absolutely love that you'd never heard of before. I also miss leaving with a sackful of promise, entertainment and enlightenment. I don't get those emotions at the ebookstores.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by issybird

Take heart, Charlie, February's a short month! I think it's probably better (at least it would be for me) to buy everything you were going to buy at once. Now you can get back on the express wagon, rather than the local.

I've seen several Kindle deals that have tempted me, but I've found that I don't want to halt my momentum unless it's for something major, a feeling I want to nurture. One of these days, when I can no longer convert to epub, it will cease to trouble me!

Just a suggestion. At some point, buy a used, inexpensive older Kindle. Just to have a device to deliver to.

And yes, I do take heart. I'm mostly buying only things I care about, and the rest I get from the library. But those WhisperSync deals are my real bane...

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by issybird

I miss bookstores. I especially miss serendipity, when you'd come across a book you'd absolutely love that you'd never heard of before. I also miss leaving with a sackful of promise, entertainment and enlightenment. I don't get those emotions at the ebookstores.

Amen. But then, I no longer want to read in paper. Except for cookbooks, and mostly not even those any more.

[Fbone]

During January I purchased one book (79 cents) but read three. A satisfying month.

[ekbell]

Originally Posted by issybird

I miss bookstores. I especially miss serendipity, when you'd come across a book you'd absolutely love that you'd never heard of before. I also miss leaving with a sackful of promise, entertainment and enlightenment. I don't get those emotions at the ebookstores.

I miss browsing in a physical bookstore as well. However I'm actually more likely to be picking up a book I never knew existed these days and the range of books I buy has expanded.

Back in the days I normally browsed the Science Fiction shelf and maybe the mysteries, the non-fiction I was interested in tended to be pricy and I read through the library. Nowadays I browse my email and this site for sales as well as PD sites and keep finding new, interesting and inexpensive books of all types! On all sorts of topics! It's amazing how quickly it adds up

I have learned a lot of history and some science and found a fascination with books that combine travel and history in the last few years.

[Apache]

The problem is that bookstores now look more like toy stores than book stores.
Apache

[astrangerhere]

I read 7 books in January and bought 3, but all were on Christmas gift cards, so they don't count against my budget!

[pdurrant]

Congratulations on the TBR reduction. Gift cards make it even sweeter.

[Rev. Bob]

What's worse than a buck-a-book Kindle sale? Finding out that they're even cheaper as a set.

Seriously, I looked at two series that are featured in the current sale and found that while they were all $1 each individually, I could get one pair for $1.80 and another for $1.50. No, I'm not talking about collected editions - this is just Amazon saying, "hey, we'll cut you a deal if you buy both."

[pdurrant]

But the question is, do you want to read them more than most of the books in your TBR?

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

But the question is, do you want to read them more than most of the books in your TBR?

Actually, one of the books is already in my TBR. Kind of.

The $1.80 series actually started out as a novella, which later got a sequel. Later, those were combined and rewritten a bit to become the first novel, which now has its own sequel - and it's those novels which are on sale, but the initial novella is in my TBR. Or, it will be until I replace it with the novel as an upgrade.

Confused yet?