Ebook Buying Addicts' Support Thread

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Asawi

I have actually started dealing with my book addiction another way:
Today i weeded out 300+ ebooks from my library. That was SCARY! But it felt so good afterwards!

It's well worth doing. Congratulations!

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Many of us have done this eventually. It is hard, but you feel so satisfied after. I'm way more picky about taking freebees now.

Ive had to personally restrict myself to picking out only one freebie a day. (I'll make an exception if they give out multiple books from a series, though.)

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I still haven't completely filled in all the prices from my purchase history (just the freebies so far). I'm a bit scared to see the number.

I finally got all the pricing information into my Calibre library and... actually, it's not too bad. Less than what I got in survey money, probably helped by the combination of partners22 (40% off) and a Kobo VIP membership (10% off).

[fduniho]

I added up the Kindle books I got from Amazon over the years, and I got these figures. They may be a little off, because I did this manually, but the ballpark figures are on target. The first column is the year, the second is the number of books I bought or got free, and the third is how much I paid in US dollars.

2012 4 $2.99
2013 177 $106.3
2014 103 $109.53
2015 62 $50.79
2016 61 $117.75
2017 87 $166.39
2018 75 $83.67
2019 107 $202.18
2020 74 $121.77
2021 61 $130.08
2022 54 $64.38

I'm pleased that I spent less last year than I did in most previous years, but I'm disappointed that I was spending over $100.00 for most years and even spent over $200.00 for one. Most of my spending has been through Daily Deals, and I also got a lot of free books. In 2019, I was inspired by Alita: Battle Angel to buy the manga and novelization, and I used those promotions that give you credit for buying a certain amount to justify buying them. This past year, I have been trying to buy less. I already have a large collection of books I haven't finished, and I've been reading a lot more borrowed books through both public libraries and Kindle Unlimited. But I've still been checking Daily Deals each day, and I think I need to stop doing that so much. Of late, Daily Deals has inflated its size by keeping books on it longer, sometimes even past them actually being on sale. And each time I use it, I'm usually hoping to not find anything I want to buy. So, I figure it's time to focus more on my previously bought books and what I can borrow for free.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by fduniho

I added up the Kindle books I got from Amazon over the years, and I got these figures.

Welcome to the thread. You can find my purchase figures in the posts linked in my signature.

Do read the first post in full - the tips there are the distilled wisdom of the thread.

It's hard to adjust to the easy availability of ebooks, after having spent years or decades scouring bookshops for new books to read.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It's hard to adjust to the easy availability of ebooks, after having spent years or decades scouring bookshops for new books to read.

I do not miss those days at all.
Apache

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It's hard to adjust to the easy availability of ebooks, after having spent years or decades scouring bookshops for new books to read.

Originally Posted by Apache

I do not miss those days at all.
Apache

I do miss those days. I used to meet people in the second hand book stores I haunted who were interested in books and were willing to talk about them. Other than the science fiction book club at university, there were few other places where I could meet people who shared my book devouring habits. Most of the people I now meet and chat are online but I do miss the personal contact.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I do miss those days. I used to meet people in the second hand book stores I haunted who were interested in books and were willing to talk about them. Other than the science fiction book club at university, there were few other places where I could meet people who shared my book devouring habits. Most of the people I now meet and chat are online but I do miss the personal contact.

Agreed. Though for me, it's less about books than code, actually. Geeking out with other Server, or especially PowerShell types, is something I really miss. Heck, I even miss being a manager.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I do miss those days. I used to meet people in the second hand book stores I haunted who were interested in books and were willing to talk about them. Other than the science fiction book club at university, there were few other places where I could meet people who shared my book devouring habits. Most of the people I now meet and chat are online but I do miss the personal contact.

I got a lot of pleasure from bookstores (and libraries) in those days. There was the thrill of the hunt and finally, finally, finding a book you’d long wanted. What a rush! And the serendipity of finding books that you’d never heard of, but were exactly the thing. The engagement of the senses; the look of the shelves of books, the tactile pleasure in handling them. I found no shopping simultaneously as relaxing and engaging as bookstores. I do miss it. I even miss card catalogues and the satisfying chunk as you set the drawer on a table and the feel of the cards as you rifled through them. And then of course the smell….

ETA: I think Paul’s point, however, was that in the paper days you had to accumulate a backlog of books in order to be sure to have something to read and that it’s a habit that’s carried over to digital, even though it’s obviously no longer a necessity.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I do miss those days. I used to meet people in the second hand book stores I haunted who were interested in books and were willing to talk about them. Other than the science fiction book club at university, there were few other places where I could meet people who shared my book devouring habits. Most of the people I now meet and chat are online but I do miss the personal contact.

I lived in a small town (still do) and, after 1980, we had a Walden Books in the mall, 1 used bookstore and a bunch of minute type markets with a book rack. Tallahassee was an hour and a half away and many a time I would make the drive to find books to read. That is what I do not miss. I loved looking through the books in a bookstore, but you have to have them to browse. When I traveled for a living, I got to hit many different bookstores all over the country and Canada. Now all books are available at the touch of a button.
Apache

[ownedbycats]

Of the used bookstores I used to visit, one shut down when the owner retired and the other one burned down.

[fduniho]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Welcome to the thread. You can find my purchase figures in the posts linked in my signature.

I took a look at those, and I don't feel as bad about my spending when I see you have been spending much more.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Do read the first post in full - the tips there are the distilled wisdom of the thread.

I did yesterday.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It's hard to adjust to the easy availability of ebooks, after having spent years or decades scouring bookshops for new books to read.

I grew up in a used bookstore and already had too many books when I got an ereader. If it weren't for getting an ereader, limited storage space would have curbed my book buying more quickly.

[Dr. Drib]

Slightly off topic, but here is my contribution to remembering the time when bookstores were numerous in the area where I lived at that time in my life):

I remember when my Mother died in 2004. It was a horrible time for me - for an endless series of months. Working took a lot of the pain away since there was no time to do anything but work. But when the school day was over, the gloom and depression kicked in with a vengeance. I felt empty inside, although teaching filled that emptiness because there was no time to feel anything. About 5:00 in the afternoon, I invariably drove to Borders (about 3-5 minutes away) just to be near people - to be near anyone. I would drink a coffee and watch as both young and old entered. They appeared to be happy to be together. Of course, this brought back the hollow feeling that seemed to govern my life during this period. However, I found comfort in spending time - day after day - in the section that dealt with understanding the grieving process. I would bring some of these books back to one of the chairs there and read through different sections as I drank my coffee. Of course, intellectually I knew what I was going through, but coping with it on an emotional level was beyond my capability. I recall the time I purchased one of those books that dealt with this issue and how the staff there seemed to commiserate (if that is the best word) with me on what I was going through. I sometimes wonder if I would have survived without the comfort of Borders and being around other people.

This bookstore, Borders, was a place that helped me throughout those horrible months when living alone and working approximately 650 miles away from my family helped me through the worst moments of grieving. I was divorced, too, at that time, so that added to the emptiness I was going through.

Borders is completely gone now from the American landscape, as are so many other good bookstores that have passed away. Yet its memory is dear to me.

(Active Moderators - please move this if it is not appropriate.)

[ownedbycats]

My Kindle boycott has drastically cut down on the freebies I've been accumulating. This is (probably) a good thing.

[issybird]

I've come to brag.

It's 1/6 of the way into the year and I haven't bought any books in 2023.

I seem (knock wood) to have lost my book acquisition lust. The books I already have are alluring and I've been able to find most new books I'm interested in on OverDrive. The irony is that I've got scads of credit sitting in my Kobo account because of gc promotions, so in effect anything I bought would be prepaid. Even that hasn't pushed me over the edge.

I'm sure this is temporary; I had an overall abstemious year in 2017 and fell off the wagon in subsequent years, but I'm enjoying it right now. One thing I've noticed in the past is that buying books leads to more buying of books and that the opposite also is true. I've got out of the habit. For now, at any rate.