Buying Philosophies

[Cuechick]

From my limited time here I have seen lots of different approaches to how people are accumulating content for
their Kindles. I think I may be a little unique in mine though and just thought I'd share...

First off, I am not interested in replacing all of my existing books. I am not one to read a book twice and am not sure if I will even keep them on
my Kindle after I finish reading them. Knowing that it saved in my Amazon virtual library, is all the back up I think I need.
I love to share my books, so the inability to pass along good book is actually the biggest draw back of the K, for me.
I'll get over it though...my upstairs neighbor might not though 

I do wish you could access your wish list in the store options or that from the Amazon description pages, they could add a "save for later" button, that would add it to your Kindle list. I know I can just send myself a sample, but personally, I do not want to clog up my Home menu with too much stuff (I will never need an SD card). I do like the "save it for later" option and have added my "Kindle available" options from my wish list too it.

So now here is how I am approaching buying content for my K ... one book at a time. In other words, I have to finish one before I  can purchase another... with the exceptions of limited time offers (like free books) or in the event I will be traveling to a place where I can not download. I think this way, I will be able to keep my spending under control and I also will not get overwhelmed with all that is on there. It will also give me incentive to finish what I am already reading.

I think there is something fun about getting that new content, a little rush, so I am also trying a free subscription, to a major newspaper. I am not a big newspaper reader but I thought I would give this a shot, since it is free. The whole free sample thing is great, I think this will help me make better choices from the get go. I use to only read the first page of book (in a store) and rely a lot more on the appeal of the cover and description and maybe customer reviews if buying online. Usually this was fine but occasionally it resulted in a dud.

I do think I am going to read a lot more, already I am turning off my TV more, just to read. When I lived in NYC, I read a ton, on the subway and buses, it is just part of the lifestyle. This was also before I had a laptop, which I think is the biggest deterrent. I spend way too much time on it, like a right now!

I would love to hear how ever one else buys and or plans too and if you think your reading more now, since you got your Kindle?

[Linda Cannon-Mott]

Hi Octochick,
I am definitely reading more with my Kindle... other than the news & 2 or 3 fav shows my TV is obsolete. I have several sample chapters on my Kindle and always get the freebies... because I have nothing to lose. Read a few pages & if I don't like, just delete.

I have a list of books I want to read on a spread sheet on my computer in order based on review. Nothing fancy but that is the way I do it. I always have more than one book on my Kindle though.

Linda

[Khabita]

Oh my gosh, Octochick, are we the same person? 

Amazing. You pretty much nailed my buying philosophy. One book at a time, have to finish one before buying another (although it's not unusual for me to have more than one book going at a time, one on the Kindle and one dead tree book). I use samples to the max -- I have had to train myself to NOT have to read the entire sample. I know that's odd, but usually you can tell in the first few pages if a book is going to work, but I have always had this "if you start you must finish" philosophy about books, and I have had to retrain my brain to not get so bogged down in samples that I have no time to read books!

Linda C-M -- We are similar, too! Only dif is that I still keep my reading list in a little notebook that I carry around everywhere with me. Funny, cuz I am a computer professional, but I like having the list with me and with my Kindle, and so I still use the ol' $1.99 notebook.

I keep two lists, titled simply "Yes" and "No." Not creative, I know, but it works. Now that I can download samples, the lists are growing by leaps and bounds, especially the "Yes" list.

I am disorderly in life, but orderly in my reading, oddly enough, so I don't like to have too much on my Kindle at a time. I keep what I have read up on Amazon, and the mobileread stuff and other non-Amazon books I keep in a folder on my hard drive. I upload a couple at a time to my Kindle for reading.

Man, this silly little thing has really taken over my life!

[Cuechick]

You do both know that you can also make a list on your Kindle, in the store, by clicking "save it for later" on any book description. That list appears on the store menu?

I am not sure if I was clear about that in my OP?

I use samples to the max -- I have had to train myself to NOT have to read the entire sample. I know that's odd, but usually you can tell in the first few pages if a book is going to work, but I have always had this "if you start you must finish" philosophy about books, and I have had to retrain my brain to not get so bogged down in samples that I have no time to read books!

And you make such a great point! I too am from that "start to finish" school! A really valuable tip, thanks!

[Leslie]

You do both know that you can also make a list on your Kindle, in the store, by clicking "save it for later" on any book description. That list appears on the store menu?

Wow, I don't think I realized that! What a great hint...and here I am, the question-answering person!

I download tons of samples. I have samples from back in May when I first got my Kindle. If someone suggests a book, or a I read a review, I just find it at Amazon and send myself a sample. I tend to do my browsing much more from Amazon than from the Kindle itself so it is incredibly easy to get samples -- and then if I want to buy the book, after reading the sample -- I usually buy it from my Kindle.

L

[Linda Cannon-Mott]

Thanks for the great tip, I wasn't aware of the "save for later" feature either. I have some OCD also, if I start a book I feel obligated to finish it and have struggled through many over the years. LOL, not very orderly in my house either.

Linda

[Khabita]

Leslie -- as I said, I'm ridiculously organized with my Kindle. I sort my Home page from newest to oldest, so the older samples end up at the end, and the book I am currently reading ends up at the top.

This also helps when I am ready to delete, because the samples I've already read sort to the top for easy deletion!

[jmiked]

Most of the Kindle content I accumulate from sources other than Amazon, since I like to read older works (but not so old they could be called classics).

The problem I have found with buying one book at a time is that 5 books I have purchased have subsequently disappeared from the Kindle store. One because I complained that the formatting was atrocious, and four apparently because of copyright reasons.

The one that disappeared after I complained also disappeared from my Kindle within two hours (yeah I got a refund)...... Fortunately, I had backed up everything the day before, so I could reload the book and finish it.

The other four were Rex Stout collections that I purchased over a period of 4 weeks. Several days after I got the last one, they were gone from the store. I emailed the publisher (Rosetta) and they said only that they were no longer available and to contact the original publisher.

I guess my current philosophy of buying is: Don’t put off buying digital versions of older stuff I really want, but I don't feel that I have to buy the new things immediately.

I'm glad I got the Rex Stout books in advance of my intent to read, I would not have them otherwise.

[pidgeon92]

I'll admit my first course of action is always going to be borrowing from the library. Even if I was made out of money, I doubt I would buy all e-books, I just like the library, and try to go at least weekly. The things I like to buy are the Wall Street Journal subscription for my husband, and non-fiction books. It takes me forever to wade through non-fiction books, where I can read a novel in a day or two. My husband prefers non-fiction (and he reads books very slowly), so I try to buy books that we will each read, thus making me feel better about the cost.

That said, I would really love to get Harry Potter, I could (and have) read them over and over again.

In addition, I made a promise to myself if I bought the Kindle that I would read more of the classics, most of which can fortunately be download for free.

[KarenB]

I do a little bit of both but one of things I like best about the Kindle and buying from Amazon is finding a new author that I love. On at least three occassions, I have found a new author, downloaded a sample then the entire book. When I finished reading it, I immediately wanted the other books she/he may have written. If it's an author that I'm really familiar with and have read everything as released, then I want just the latest one and then download something new when the last one has been read.
  I also buy some from other sources (mainly Fictionwise and publisher direct sites like Amber Quill Press, Samhain, etc.--yes, I read a lot of romance  ) and when I buy from there I will normally buy several books at once mainly to only have to hook up my Kiki to the computer one time.
  Somewhere (it may have been on this loop actually) I saw the tip about the save for later option and have used that several times. I also have tried to streamline and adjust my recommendation list from Amazon itself online. The problem there is Amazon keeps a list of everything I've purchased so the board books for my nieces and nephews still pop up as do the DVDs my husband buys. But, hey, it's all fun.
  I don't read alot of the books over (that's why I have such a huge library of paper books) and what I love about digital books. Every once in awhile (maybe once a year), I decide I need to save all my books and will download them all to a cd or now a flash drive. (love them).

Karen
 
 

[Leslie]

Just a hint to Karen: Sweet Pea posted a hint on how to adjust your recommendations at Amazon. I think it might be on one of the threads related to free books, because someone commented that downloading the free books can affect your recommendations and Sweet Pea knew how to fix that problem.

L

[Selcien]

My initial plan was to get one book at a time but I had to scrap that plan as I felt that it'd decrease my chances of reading classics, so I switched over to a two books at a time plan (one classic/one modern). That plan worked once but was then destroyed by the free books, particularly the ones that Amazon offers as they're free for a limited time. I became so concerned with getting the free books that I completely lost my direction and so I have decided that I will not allow price to dictate what I read. Unfortunately I got carried away replacing my free books and ended up getting six books (three classic/three modern) but I will not be getting any more books until I've read all of them, and then it'll be back to the two books at a time plan. *EDIT: It's four books, not six, still quite a bit for me*

It should be noted that I'll only be reading samples when I'm looking for books to read, not when I already have books, and I'll be reading the entire sample all the way through unless it's something that I cannot stand to read.

As for whether I'm reading more, I'm on my fourth Kindle book now (note: Not fourth Kindle but fourth book on the Kindle), and I read a paperback book Kindle style (tore out the pages so that there would be no left pages, or binding  )while waiting for the Kindle. So, in contrast to the rest of this year prior to getting a Kindle, that would be a 500% increase in reading Comrade Octochick.

[jdsmke]

My Kindle content will be somewhat varied.  One thing is that as a teacher, I deal with a lot of .pdf files, and I am looking forward to sending them to my kindle for $.10 and keeping them there instead of printing them all and putting them in binders to read.  The note function will be great for that as I am a prodigious note taker.  I will probably save enough printing supplies in the first year or so to nearly pay for the kindle.

Of course there will be the smattering of books and newspaper/magazine subs I am thinking of getting (I am probably going to subscribe to Opinionated, since I teach government and politics).

[Lotus]

I tend to buy one book at a time, and read it before I buy another. Like others, that doesn't apply to free books, which I download as soon as I see a post about them.

I also tend to read the entire book, but that also doesn't apply to freebies. I figure a freebie is like a big sample for an author. If I don't like the book at all, I feel no obligation to finish it. I guess I feel that if I didn't really choose it, I don't have to read the whole thing.

I have a bunch of samples downloaded that I haven't read. They're more like reminders for me (a Wish List, if you will) for books I want to buy. This proved very useful when I was stuck out of town for a week. I ended up reading more than I usually do, and needed some of those extra books.

When I first got my Kindle, I got whole slew of samples. A couple of them were small business/investing how-tos. On one of them, I read the sample, and it really inspired me (not something that happens often), so I bought the book immediately. I felt that if the author had inspired me in a few chapters, he deserved my money.

[Leslie]

My Kindle content will be somewhat varied.  One thing is that as a teacher, I deal with a lot of .pdf files, and I am looking forward to sending them to my kindle for $.10 and keeping them there instead of printing them all and putting them in binders to read.  The note function will be great for that as I am a prodigious note taker.  I will probably save enough printing supplies in the first year or so to nearly pay for the kindle.

Of course there will be the smattering of books and newspaper/magazine subs I am thinking of getting (I am probably going to subscribe to Opinionated, since I teach government and politics).

Just so you know...it seems that the $.10 charge has not been implemented. No one has officially come out and said so, but likewise, I have never heard anyone say they have been charged, either.

L

[Meemo]

I download tons of samples. I have samples from back in May when I first got my Kindle. If someone suggests a book, or a I read a review, I just find it at Amazon and send myself a sample. I tend to do my browsing much more from Amazon than from the Kindle itself so it is incredibly easy to get samples -- and then if I want to buy the book, after reading the sample -- I usually buy it from my Kindle.
L

I'm the same way - I rarely browse or shop from my Kindle - I do it on the computer, it's so much faster.  Send myself a sample, when I get around to reading it if I'm still interested I keep it, if not I delete it.  Lots of samples - I should move them to their own SD card! 

[Meemo]

Hi Octochick,
The wish list thing for  the Kindle really bugs me. I contacted Amazon about the lack of "wish list" for Kindle books on the site. They said it was only available if you are searching the store from the Kindle, but not the Amazon site. I have to keep my Kindle organized and I can't stand all of those samples just to have them as a reminder for things I might possibly like to get.
FYI, I found a way around it on the Amazon site. If you are looking at a Kindle book you would like to put on your wish list, just click on the "other versions" link for hardback or paperback and then add it to wish list. When you are ready to buy, just click the link to get in a Kindle version.
Wheezie

Actually there is another way to put it on your wish list - when you're looking at a specific book, click on the link to see the reviews.  When you're on the page with the reviews, in the top box on the right-hand side of the page, there's a "Add to Wish List" button.  (If you're looking at the list of Kindle books, you can click on the stars under the title & get to that same page with the reviews.)

[Betsy the Quilter]

Actually there is another way to put it on your wish list - when you're looking at a specific book, click on the link to see the reviews.  When you're on the page with the reviews, in the top box on the right-hand side of the page, there's a "Add to Wish List" button. 

(If you're looking at the list of Kindle books, you can click on the stars under the title & get to that same page with the reviews.)

I just tried this by clicking on the stars, and it works great--I recommend this be in the FAQs--it adds the Kindle version to your wish list.  Thanks so much, Meemo!

Betsy

[Leslie]

Great. This is a good hint. I'll add it to the list!

Leslie

[Betsy the Quilter]

Note that Amazon also now has a "Universal Wish List" button that can be added to your bookmarks toolbar; it works for any site, including theirs!  It pops up a little window with the item and a button for "Add to Wishlist."

Betsy

[pidgeon92]

Here's a link to the Amazon Universal Wishlist button that you can add to your web browser buttons:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/wishlist/get-button/