eBooks: Do you rent or buy?
Physical books are becoming a thing of the past. If you have an eReader, how do you access new reading material. What are you willing to pay?
Photo by SAM DEAN | The Roanoke Times
With tablets becoming so popular, eBooks are also gaining in popularity. I haven’t ventured into that territory yet, but I’m interested to see how those who have get their books.
Do you buy them off of Amazon or iTunes, or do you rent them from the library? Who has the best prices and selection?
What’s the most you’ll pay for an eBook?
Tell me a little about your habits in the comments section below.
February 11, 2013 - 8:00 AM
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I get all of my eBooks from Amazon. I haven’t tried my local library yet, but that’s because I’m not one to read the latest releases either. If you enjoy older books, many of them are free. I think it’s anything published before 1913, not entirely sure about the year.
I’ve had a kindle for about 2 years now and get about 85% of my books from Amazon – the new releases are more expensive so I wait a while before I purchase them – the price always goes down. However, you can get a lot of good reads at $4.99 or less. I haven’t used the library system as much as I should, however their website is very user friendly, but may be quicker to negotiate if you have a particular title/author in mind, but they are adding more each month it seems. I need to remind myself to take advantage of their ereading materials. I suppose one could check on Amazon for a book they want and then check the library to see if they are carrying it. The library also encourages you to have a library card # to search their site.
Since receiving my Kindle almost 2 years ago, I have downloaded well over 500 books. Not all were read but since I have only spent about $75.00 in that time, it has been quite a bargain. Most of what I have downloaded has been FREE. There are sites on Facebook that offer free kindle downloads each day. Many are not to my taste but that’s to be expected. Amazon has a “free” section that I check frequently. I rarely pay for a book anymore unless I am looking for a new release or someone has recommended one to me.
I cannot read a book each and every day so I still have plenty available. I have enjoyed many books that I would never have bought or even checked out of the library. I know it’s a sad thing for me to admit but I can’t imagine even going to the library again. I’m out of school, research is available on the Internet (yes, quackery too but still there), and I cannot think of any reason I would go. That’s hard to admit from someone that usually checked out armfuls of books each week as soon as I could in school and beyond.
I also have been able to pass on a lot of my books without feeling that I have “lost” them. They are still available on my Kindle. Now that I live in a small apartment instead of a house, my space is limited and giving away hundreds of books has helped. I still have several hundred that I have kept for sentimental value, etc. People that don’t read a lot don’t understand me but I don’t understand them either!
I have had my kindle for a little over a year. I was unsure how I would like not having an actual book, however I love it! I “buy” a lot of free books from Amazon. And through this I have found a lot of good books and great new authors. A lot of newer authors will put out their first book for free to get their name out there. I will pay a few dollars for a book from Amazon but a lot of the new releases I will get electronically through the library. That has worked great for me also. You get two weeks to read them and then they will come off your kindle. You can also return them early if you finish them early.Sometimes newer releases take a little longer for the library to get in electronic form, but to me it’s worth the wait. Overall, it’s been a great investment.
I’ve had a Kindle for about two years now. Have bought virtually all the “books” from Amazon. There are some great buys for 99 cents to $4.99. A few duds too. But where else can you get a good edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare for about $2.00? When you’re on the Amazon page & buy a book, then below you’ll see “recommended” other books. It’s easy to get sucked in to buying more. I find the online reviews to be pretty accurate -if it gets 4 stars, I usually like the book. For Kindle owners: you do know that even tho you delete a book from the e-reader, it will stay on your list under “Manage My Kindle” on the Amazon website (til you delete it from there)? I have accidently deleted a couple from my Kindle, discovered my mistake, then reinstated it from my list. To Debi, I do understand. I’ve got a few hundred books myself. I’m usually reading two books at a time -one fiction, one non-fiction. My wife swears that if something ever happens to me, she’ll be the first to call up the used bookstores to clean out the bookshelves! She reads a lot herself, so she can’t complain too much.
I have had a Nook for 2.5 years, read over 1000 books (not all of which are worth mentioning…). Since the Roanoke/Botetourt Library started offering eBooks, I almost always have my 3-book limit checked out, and rarely go the full 7 days before returning and checking out new books. (In fact, I was once “locked out” of my account because I checked out, read, and returned too many books in a short period of time.) Before the library (and still do many now) I got free books from Barnes & Noble website. I love that I can delete a book (very satisfying when they aren’t any good!) and I can “test drive” authors and books before I decide that I want to spend money. In total, I have probably spent about $30 – $40 in ebooks during that time – all of which I have already read multiple times. Plus, I have only gotten about 3 paper books in that same time – a real space saver.
Everyday Amazon puts up 4 different books on sale. They also have monthly selections. I’ve found a plethora of excellent books that way. I recently picked up Joe Hill’s “Horns” for $.99. I do use my library often, but usually for print books. I’d still rather have print, but I’m slowly adjusting to the screen.
Gutenberg.org is a great place to get free books if your down for some classics.
I get free books from Amazon all the time. I have Amazon prime but don’t rent books much. Have used the library too. I rarely buy books anymore. No more room for them.
I’m a huge fan of my eReader (Kindle, though my husband has a Nook), despite doubting I’d ever like one. I tend to get most of my books through Amazon. Through Facebook, I think, or maybe my Mom, I found a site called bookbub.com – they do a lot of the “free” or reduced price books on Amazon. You sign up, tell them your preferences, then they send you one (and ONLY one) email a day with selections from the categories you picked. Like other folks have experienced, some are duds, some are stellar. I’ve actually gone back and bought more of an author’s back list because I got one of their books from Bookbub and loved it. Now if only there were a way to -truly- organize your Kindle cloud… Sigh.
Glad to see I’m not the only one truly enjoying the new technology of e-readers. I am a dialysis nurse and see several of my patients using them during their treatments. This is great for them because they usually should not move one of their arms due to the needles and can operate the e-reader easier with one hand. I also have set up a “real” book swap in the lobby for the other folks.
One patient was talking about books and I picked him out one that I thought he’d enjoy, based on his personality. He seemed amazed that I gave him a book. He said, “Is this really for me? You GAVE me a book?” Hopefully encouraged him to be a reader. Probably not but one can hope! lol
I don’t post much to the blogs but you hit on a subject that is a passion for me. Glad to see others share the same interests.
Mary J.: I’ve recently been introduced to Bookbub. It’s nice that they stick to one email per day, it really keeps you from being overloaded.
I really like the freebies from Amazon because you can read them on your computer or smart phone with the Kindle download, no eReader required.
Project Gutenburg, http://www.gutenberg.org/, has thousands of free books in multiple formats. Some of these are also available via Amazon, B&N, etc. Books written before 1923 are out of copyright. Many of these classics are available.
You can also volunteer to proofread, http://www.pgdp.net/c/, for Project Gutenburg.