Author Topic: Paying for Kindle books.  (Read 18403 times)

wealthviahealth

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Paying for Kindle books.
« on: December 31, 2014, 03:25:21 PM »
I have been doing a lot of podcasts and audio books lately but have recently gotten the itch to begin reading on a kindle ( the basic one with a light, no apps, games, internet, etc..)
Primary reason- To increase my reading speed ( vs audio book) as well as to minimize all other competing distractions that are present when reading
on iphone, ipad, or computer.

I was looking at some of the prices for kindle books and the general range is between $3- 18. Though I greatly value learning and reading,
I think that I may find it hard to spend anywhere above $10 for a kindle book that I cannot gift like a real book. This would also be after the $120 spent on the kindle as well.

Any avid kindle readers on here?  If so, is it ever hard for you to justify buying new books when the price is higher?

Philociraptor

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2014, 03:29:07 PM »
Read on my Kindle Keyboard on a daily basis.

I don't buy new books when they first come out. I keep a large wishlist (about 50 books right now) on Amazon and sync it up with ereaderiq. It tells me when they go on sale. Bought 3 books last month for the grand total of $10, one of which only came out 2 months ago but was on sale for $6 with a list price of $30.

Lian

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2014, 03:32:40 PM »
I get a lot of kindle books through my library. The check-out period is usually more than I need to finish a book, and I rarely feel the need to keep a book once I've finished it. And it's free.

Eric

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2014, 03:33:38 PM »
I get a lot of kindle books through my library. The check-out period is usually more than I need to finish a book, and I rarely feel the need to keep a book once I've finished it. And it's free.

Yep.  Your library has them.

Frostee

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2014, 03:41:29 PM »
I also mostly use my kindle to check out e-books from the library. You never have to go to the library. You just check out books from the library website. Also, there is a much bigger selection of e-books than regular books at the library I use.

Do you really need the light? You can get the most basic kindle without the backlight for $80 or less. I don't have a backlight on my kindle, and there have been very few instances when I wished I had one.

Also, you can loan kindle books to other people. The Amazon website has instructions on how to loan kindle books to other people. The person you loan to doesn't need a kindle to read it, just a free kindle app.
« Last Edit: December 31, 2014, 03:46:23 PM by Frostee »

wtjbatman

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2014, 04:24:16 PM »
Love my kindle. Read using it literally every day (usually before bed). I used to spend way too much money on ebooks for it. My solution? Kindle Unlimited. For $10 a month (the price of one book), you can read hundreds of thousands of books. Not every single book is featured on Kindle Unlimited, but if you can't find something to read, you aren't trying hard enough.

mm1970

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2014, 04:25:31 PM »
I love the kindle, and alternate with regular books (that I usually get from friends).

Periodically there are a lot of books for free on the kindle from Amazon (there are websites that track them), or cheap like $1.  I have gotten a bunch of these.  Some are good, some are bad, but if they suck you can get rid of them and hey, they were free.

There's a kindle lending library too with Amazon.  I've used that.

Cpa Cat

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #7 on: December 31, 2014, 04:45:59 PM »
I have an old school first generation Kindle with no light. I always wish I had one. But I can't justify buying a new Kindle for it.

I get a lot of library Kindle books - I am entitled to be a member of both my library and the one in the next city over, so I have a broadened selection. There are some Kindle books that are free straight from Amazon (many are older classics, others are just random). There are web pages out there that post links to free books on Amazon.

I tried Kindle Unlimited for a month for free - I read a couple of books. I would sign up again if I got a couple of books on my wishlist that were available through there.

I maintain an Amazon wishlist of books and keep an eye out for price drops. I will sometimes pay between $0.99 and $2.99 for a book.


Rural

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #8 on: December 31, 2014, 05:05:20 PM »
Kindle app on my work-supplied tablet and library books. I've bought two books for Kindle, total, and both were for work.

dougef

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #9 on: December 31, 2014, 05:26:02 PM »
Also go to bookbub.com and sign up for their email service.  Pick the genre you like and you get a daily email of about 4 or 5 books that are either free or vey cheap - generally .99 to 2.99.  I find lots of books this way and many have gotten me hooked on authors I was not familiar with..

SingleMomDebt

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #10 on: December 31, 2014, 05:31:50 PM »
Love my kindle. Read using it literally every day (usually before bed). I used to spend way too much money on ebooks for it. My solution? Kindle Unlimited. For $10 a month (the price of one book), you can read hundreds of thousands of books. Not every single book is featured on Kindle Unlimited, but if you can't find something to read, you aren't trying hard enough.

wtjbatman - thank you for brining this up. I just checked into it and I did not realize this was available for apps. I know the Kindle library is not accessible to me because I don't have a Kindle Reader. But I do know many of the books I have bought lately are available via KU. Will gladly take that up, as buying books has been getting costly (and not happy w/ all my purchases).

Thegoblinchief

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #11 on: December 31, 2014, 06:17:53 PM »
My library's ebook selection is very hit and miss, but I use it as much as I can. My wife is typically very patient with Kindle sales. The vast majority of our ebook library was acquired very, very cheaply or for free just by being patient.

At the same time, you often learn what authors or publishers never go on sale. So you might as well buy it now if you're fine with spending the money.

freeedom

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #12 on: December 31, 2014, 06:27:17 PM »
If you have the Amazon Lending Library is cool. Also check with your local library. If they're out of copyright, you can get them on Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/

I just got Meditations By Marcus Aurelius

MicrobeMama

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #13 on: December 31, 2014, 06:37:15 PM »
I have read books on my Nook Simple Touch for the past 3 years, and on PDAs for the past 15 years. I love having lots of books in a light weight device. But I tend to read a lot in low light situations and the ST is not useful then. I read on my tablets, but the backlight tires my eyes. So, after more than a year of waffling, I bit the bullet and bought a Kindle Paperwhite (e-ink device with the front light), because it was on sale for $99 (with ads).
I prefer my Nook ST for the way the hardware works (physical home button, configurable side buttons, slightly larger side bevel to hold on to, and more quickly accessible controls for font, etc.). I also hate the ads on the screensaver and a banner at the bottom of the home page.
So I was going to send the Kindle back until I checked out a library book (I access both city and county libraries for an immense catalog of books). The Kindle process is MUCH easier since the book can be checked out on any browser and wirelessly syncs to the Kindle device. Also can e-mail personal files and webpages to my Kindle e-mail and have them delivered wirelessly. Those two features are cool enough to convince me to keep the device, even though I could save $10 by getting the latest Nook lighted reader.
I also use BookBub and get free to $0.99 books. It lists books on Amazon, B&N, Google and others. I highly recommend.

NCGal

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #14 on: December 31, 2014, 06:51:42 PM »
I have 300 books on my Kindle and I`ve only paid for two. Sign up for emails at these sites and you will receive daily emails with listings of free books based on your preferences. And they`re not old or obscure books. Often they are new and when no longer free, they are high-priced.

Lendleme.com
Booklending.com
Iloveebooks.com
Ohfb.com

There are also sites that match borrowers with lenders. Many kindle books are lendable, in which case if you own it, you can send it to someone. This is allowed only once per book.

Metta

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #15 on: December 31, 2014, 07:04:32 PM »
Another way to get free Kindle books:  You can join Kindle Scout https://kindlescout.amazon.com

Basically you vote on books that you think Amazon should publish and if a book you voted on is selected, you get a free copy of the book prior to the official release.

Yet still another way: Baen Books (the science fiction publisher) has a free elibrary of their older titles: https://www.baenebooks.com/c-1-free-library.aspx

wtjbatman

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #16 on: December 31, 2014, 09:34:55 PM »
Love my kindle. Read using it literally every day (usually before bed). I used to spend way too much money on ebooks for it. My solution? Kindle Unlimited. For $10 a month (the price of one book), you can read hundreds of thousands of books. Not every single book is featured on Kindle Unlimited, but if you can't find something to read, you aren't trying hard enough.

wtjbatman - thank you for brining this up. I just checked into it and I did not realize this was available for apps. I know the Kindle library is not accessible to me because I don't have a Kindle Reader. But I do know many of the books I have bought lately are available via KU. Will gladly take that up, as buying books has been getting costly (and not happy w/ all my purchases).

No problem! When I don't have my Kindle with me, say I'm sitting somewhere and have to kill 10 minutes, I bust out my android phone and open up the Kindle App. Boom, I get to read whatever book I was reading at home on my Kindle, and it syncs to where I was at previously. Then when I get home and open the book on my Kindle, it syncs back up to my new location in the book. Ain't technology grand.

greaper007

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #17 on: December 31, 2014, 09:40:59 PM »
Cough, Bittorrent, Cough...

Before we get into the ethical issues with this.   It's great for older books where the author is no longer alive or already filthy rich.    I would have loved to have a Kindle in high school so that I wouldn''t have had to buy books for english.    Beyond that, if you like the book, and the author isn't already filthy rich, you should buy it.

Wolf_Stache

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #18 on: December 31, 2014, 10:06:42 PM »
As an author who sometimes gives my books away for free for reviews:

Bookbub
Sweet free books
LibraryThing (Giveaway section)- I personally got hundreds of books free there

homehandymum

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #19 on: January 01, 2015, 02:37:41 AM »
Thanks all!  I just got a kindle for Christmas, and although had found some lists of free books, I hadn't encountered BookBub or Sweet free books.

The best use for it here in NZ is that we don't get free shipping from Amazon, so if a book is unavailable from Bookdepository (which DOES ship free internationally), or from a local seller, my previous options were to buy the kindle version and read on the laptop (which I hate doing), or suck up the $35 shipping charge - often two or three times the price of the book (which I also hate doing, and will only do if the book is NEEDED - usually for the kids' schooling). 

Now, when a book is only for sale via amazon, I can actually acquire it in a format that is pleasant to read!

Captain and Mrs Slow

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #20 on: January 01, 2015, 02:43:54 AM »
Wow some awesome info here, with pirate bay not coming back I'm looking for new source of cheap books. Problem is I live abroad so I can't use the local library.

Metta

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #21 on: January 01, 2015, 07:28:10 AM »
Another source of cheap books: StoryBundle. They sell books as a bundle and you decide how much you are willing to pay. Usually there are a bunch of writers you've never heard of bundled with a never before seen work from a popular writer in that genre.

https://storybundle.com/

To quote from their FAQ:

Quote
What is StoryBundle?
Glad you asked! StoryBundle is a way for people who love to read to discover quality indie books written by indie authors. You know how it's always hard to find something good to read? StoryBundle hopes to solve that.

We take a handful of books—anywhere from six to nine—and group them together to offer as a bundle. Then you, the reader, can take a look at the titles we've chosen and decide how much you'd like to pay. Think of us like a friend that scours independent books for undiscovered gems, then bundles these titles together for one low price that you decide. Yeah, we mean it; you get to set the price that you want to pay!

There are a fixed set of books that we offer in a bundle, and each bundle is available only for a limited time. If you miss out on the bundle, you'll have to buy the books individually from each author. We feature each bundle only once, once it's gone, it's gone. (We are working on a way to bring back past bundles, but don't have anything concrete yet.)

Again, one of the central concepts is that you get to decide how much each bundle is worth to you. Think each individual book in a bundle of five books is worth $2? That's fine! Pay $10 and get five books! Only think they're worth $1 each because you're not sure if you like a certain genre? That's fine too. If you want to reward these authors and encourage more independent writers by giving a bit more, that's fantastic as well. One reason we started StoryBundle is because indie authors need our support, and we want to do our part in showcasing awesome writers.

Noodle

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #22 on: January 01, 2015, 07:39:51 AM »
Kindle has Daily Deals where the books are .99-2.99; they also have monthly deals of books up to 3.99. There is a newsletter you can sign up for that will tell you each day's deals. There is usually a nonfiction, a romance, a science fiction, and a children's book plus the main selection. Those can be some pretty major authors although usually not brand-new books. Often when the new book in a series is coming out they will put one or two early books on sale.

I don't have many free books but I don't think I've ever paid full price either.

Metta

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #23 on: January 01, 2015, 07:56:04 AM »
If you have Amazon Prime for other purposes, you can also get a free book each month. It is a pre-release book published by Amazon (and so far they've all been very good). They offer a choice of four books and you choose the one you want. For some reason, this month they are allowing me to choose two free books instead of one. I'm good with that. :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/digital/kindle/first

(I have so many sources of free or low-priced books that I can't keep them straight, so you are getting my responses in dribs and drabs.)

ToeInTheWater

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #24 on: January 01, 2015, 08:07:15 AM »
check out here:  http://www.freereadfeed.com/

they list recent kindle books offered for free.  you can filter on genre and save the filter for future searching

you're unlikely to get popular authors for free from amazon (yes, check your library.  you may have to wait like you would have with a physical book). 

b

begood

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #25 on: January 01, 2015, 08:48:08 AM »
Thanks for all these good tips!

This forum provided my favorite discovery of 2014: Overdrive

Overdrive is the e-book system many libraries use. I have library cards at two different libraries - my county system and the Free Library of Philadelphia (free to PA residents; $50 (?) for others). FLP offers a broad array of both e-books and audiobooks. I've "requested" that they add three titles to their collection and all three have already been added - and they automatically put me on the "hold" list for those books.

I have a Kindle Keyboard and a 1st gen Kindle Fire. I have to use a clip-on booklight with the Kindle Keyboard when reading in bed because the ambient light isn't good enough to read the e-ink screen. I was reading the Kindle Fire before bed, but realized it was taking me longer to fall asleep on those nights - backlit tech.

I'm considering getting a Kindle Paperwhite -- it's been in my Amazon cart for months! But I'm doing my best to follow the Mustachian principle of not replacing functioning technology. Given the age of both my devices, I might end up replacing TWO instead of one sometime in the near future.

The best trick I learned is to go download all the books I want to read from my two Overdrive sites, then turn off the Wi-Fi. The books don't disappear, even if the borrow time has expired, until you turn the Wi-Fi on again. Because I do like to use my Fire to watch Prime video, I'm shifting all my Overdrive books to the Kindle Keyboard. Keeping the book past is expiration date does NOT keep the next person waiting on hold for the book from receiving it.

I found a new series I want to try that is not available on either Overdrive system I have access to. Last year, I would have just bought the first two books to see if I liked them. This year, I'm shrugging and saying I've got enough to read to last me for weeks - if I still want the other series then, I'll revisit the idea.

blub

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #26 on: January 01, 2015, 09:23:10 AM »
If you have the Amazon Lending Library is cool. Also check with your local library. If they're out of copyright, you can get them on Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/

I just got Meditations By Marcus Aurelius

I just need to stress this. Pretty much all classics are out of copyright and available for free through Project Gutenberg. It's an amazing resource.

teen persuasion

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #27 on: January 01, 2015, 10:37:20 AM »
Wow, lots of new places for me to check for ebooks!

I have a Kindle Keyboard, and a Kindle Fire.  I have found that I prefer the Keyboard one for reading books.  The matte screen has no glare, and the font controller is much better.  The shiny screen on the Fire, and lit screen are harder on the eyes, especially at night, and there are limited font sizing options.  I love my Fire as a tablet, though.  DS had an iPad, and used the kindle app on that, and DH has used the Kindle for PC app.

I have yet to pay for a book - I generally start looking on Amazon's top 100 free list, and download anything interesting there.  Many are new authors, some are junk, some are surprisingly good.  Some are a short time deal, so I check often.  Some are free for the first in a series.  I like classics, which can also be found on Amazon for free - there are multiple versions, some are not free, but if it is out of copyright there is a free version somewhere.  I've used Gutenberg, and Overdrive on my library's system website.  In fact, my DD is currently based on the other side of the country, but can still use her library account to access ebooks thru Overdrive, since it is all online.  I know some snowbirds who have library accounts in two states; they could use both online.

My library also has Zinio, which is a service providing emagazines for patrons.  I can view them on my Kindle Fire with their app.  Those are yours to keep, they never lock up like Overdrive books.  There is also Freegal, for free+legal music downloads (again, you keep), with a new streaming option.

The library accounts usually have limits, but they are per card, so if you have access to multiple cards (spouse, kids) you can download more.  Libraries like more circulation, so we always encourage it (yes, I work in the local library).

TN_Steve

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #28 on: January 01, 2015, 11:07:41 AM »
If you have the Amazon Lending Library is cool. Also check with your local library. If they're out of copyright, you can get them on Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/

I just got Meditations By Marcus Aurelius

This.

Also, Gutenberg.org is governed by US copyright laws, which are especially lengthy, thanks to the lobbying powers of Mickey Mouse.  If one lives in another english speaking country with more traditional length of copyright, or (hypothetically, of course) wanted a work around, look at alternatives, such as http://gutenberg.net.au/  E.T.A.:  the Australian Gutenberg help page for converting to mobi format for kindle:  http://gutenberg.net.au/help.html

Depending upon what you read, there are tons of free papers and books available in pdf format, which works ok on Kindle.  SSRN downloads for scholarly papers, for example.  (And, as mentioned above, the BAEN site for their sciFi.)

Finally, a web search of a particular old title will often give you a pdf from a site that a prof maintains for students at one college or another.
« Last Edit: January 01, 2015, 11:15:37 AM by TN_Steve »

takeahike

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #29 on: January 01, 2015, 11:12:37 AM »
I love my non back-lit kindle. I've had it for years. I travel a lot and like to travel light. I can't tolerate "book-weight". I hope the thing doesn't die as it gets tons of use. I like the non back-lit electronic ink screen as I can use it in sunlight with no glare issues. At night I just read the old fashioned way with a side table lamp. If I need a back-lit screen on the odd occasion, then I just use the kindle app on my phone. They sync so no problem going back and forth.

The bad thing is the price of kindle books are usually higher.. BUT looks like many posters have figured out cool ways around this, which I'm glad to learn about. Overdrive sounds super cool.

TerriM

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #30 on: January 01, 2015, 11:19:09 AM »
My husband does a lot of Kindle reading.  My gut goes with your feeling--I hate buying stuff that can't be resold.  He doesn't care. 

It does however, achieve his goal of minimizing "stuff".  Since Kindle is one item not 20 books, it takes up less space.

TN_Steve

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #31 on: January 01, 2015, 11:28:29 AM »
After reading this thread, I nosed around a bit.  This aggregation site of resources for public domain ebooks looks very promising.  Overlaps with Gutenberg, but has more:  http://www.ipl.org/IPLBrowse/GetSubject?vid=13&cid=1&tid=7011&parent=7006  (May not include the gutenberg australia and associated Dr. Widger site though)

And, to add my 2 cents, I'm was an early adopter on kindle and am now on my third low-end device (don't drop it on concrete!).  Cannot be beat for travel, and with some legwork, the cost isn't bad.  Look into the "used" ones that amazon will often have available (they are returns, spiffed up a bit.)

.

Syonyk

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #32 on: January 01, 2015, 11:30:36 AM »
Many good sites listed already - awesome!

One useful tool is "Calibre" - it's free ebook manager software that will convert between pretty much all formats, so you can load epubs, PDFs, txt files, rtf files, etc onto a Kindle.  Tell it what device you have, and it just "does the right thing" for it.

It does pain me to not have physical books around at times (I mostly read on a tablet, because LCDs don't bother me for reading like some people), but having helped people with thousands of books move, not having the physical clutter for things I only intend to read once is nice.  If it's a reference-type book I might use a lot in the future, or would be useful to have in 50 years, I'll pick up a physical copy (usually a $5 used copy off Amazon, which takes a month to show up), but for random stuff I'm reading through, I just go with the electronic copy.  After helping someone move literally dozens of book boxes, all fully loaded, I have no interest in accumulating that many books.

shellyrr

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #33 on: January 01, 2015, 12:35:47 PM »
Thanks for the bookbub tip.  I added 23 free books to my kindle today.  Mine was a gift.

Metta

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #34 on: January 01, 2015, 02:28:57 PM »

Depending upon what you read, there are tons of free papers and books available in pdf format, which works ok on Kindle.  SSRN downloads for scholarly papers, for example. 

Thanks for this!

Returnoftheyeti

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #35 on: January 01, 2015, 03:39:07 PM »
Add any and all books you are interested in to your Amazon Wishlist
Import WishList into EReader IQ
Add authors to your Ereader IQ list.

Get emails when books in your wish list, or authors you like have their books drop in price.

I pretty much only pay 2.99 or less for any ebook for the last 4x years...  Same as I was paying for used paperbacks.  Give or Take.

http://www.ereaderiq.com/

You can set thresholds on how much a book needs to drop for before you get an email, etc...  Its a great tool.  Just remember once every other month or so to re-import your wish list, so new books are updated. 

milesdividendmd

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #36 on: January 01, 2015, 06:10:29 PM »
One nice tip for library borrowing is to get a bunch of books at once.

Then turn your kindle to airplane mode.

The books stay on your device until you connect to wifi again.

It's a particularly useful approach for long trips. (Which is how I figured it out in the first place.)

Captain and Mrs Slow

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #37 on: January 02, 2015, 05:04:42 AM »
for those that use EReader IQ what do you set as you default price drop. I just imported my wishlist, cleaned it up at the same time (removed any hard covers) and noticed that one book George Packer's The Unwinding (great author if you want to understand redneck America) dropped from £9.99 £0.99 or a 98% drop!

Reading about politics (my favourite subject) tends to mess with your head after a whiile so I'm really pushing to spend less time on Politico and more time reading books about politics and business.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #38 on: January 02, 2015, 07:43:10 AM »
I have an early Kindle, but my library uses e-pub and Overview.  This fall when Staples had the back-to-school sales I got a tablet (marked way down) and have both the Kindle and Kobo apps on it, plus Overview.  Now I can read n any format, and see colours.  My poor Kindle sits unloved and unused.

Captain and Mrs Slow

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #39 on: January 05, 2015, 12:22:27 AM »
Oh man I love this site - ereaderiq works with amazon.co.uk which is nice.

Just got another email, another price drop. Book isn't on my priority list so I'll let it go. What I will do is be aggressive on adding books to my wish list, didn't always bother because of the cost now I will.

Very Happy

kpd905

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #40 on: January 05, 2015, 05:24:19 AM »
Just FYI, the normal Kindle is $79.

One nice tip for library borrowing is to get a bunch of books at once.

Then turn your kindle to airplane mode.

The books stay on your device until you connect to wifi again.


Whoa, going to use this.  Never even thought of it.

starbuck

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #41 on: January 05, 2015, 06:08:37 AM »
I bought a used Kindle Paperwhite on Amazon a few months ago that came with the specially designed case, and it's been awesome. The built in light was really what sold me on it. It's great for reading at night, especially when camping and my spouse is already asleep!

I get all of my ebooks from the library's online lending system, but I'll have to check out some of the resources posted here. I'd dabbled with Bookbub in the past but nothing really interested me so I unsubscribed.

Villanelle

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #42 on: January 05, 2015, 06:27:47 AM »
Wow some awesome info here, with pirate bay not coming back I'm looking for new source of cheap books. Problem is I live abroad so I can't use the local library.

Do you have any ability to get an American library card?  If you are American, next time you are in the States, try to get a card at some library.  Or, ask a parent, sibling, friend, whatever if they will allow you to use their library card online.  (There is little risk to them since, at least in the systems with which I am familiar, there are no overdue fees for Kindle books.)  If you can get access to more then one library system, even better. 

wealthviahealth

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #43 on: January 10, 2015, 12:52:41 PM »
*Update- I have been loving the kindle and I am averaging 2 books a week, previous average was around 1 book a month.
This has no doubt been a significant quality of life booster for e and has been worth every penny so far.

My CC gets 5% cash back at grocery stores right now so I have been buying amazon/kindle gift cards from the store and using these to buy my books.
I have found it much easier to spend money on these books when I have already purchased the gift card and loaded the balance to my account.

NICE!

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #44 on: January 10, 2015, 01:46:01 PM »
As previously mentioned, Project Gutenberg. Free.

If you can't find a book to read on that site, than we will definitely not get along.

Peacefulwarrior

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #45 on: January 11, 2015, 12:44:33 AM »
I got a free kindle from work (per my own request) and can buy all the books I want with the company's credit card. I'm an avid reader and used to read a book a week. After I go the kindle I ended ud never finishing books. The possibility to hop in and buy a new books instead if there was some less interesting chapters was too tempting. Or just go scroll around in some other books instead. After I figured out the kindle was the problem I got rid of it and went straight back to reading 1 book every week. It took me a few months to realize that. I'm not saying that kindle's a bad they're just not for me. Just wanted to point out if you suspect that could be a problem to you as well.

Syonyk

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #46 on: February 15, 2015, 11:11:49 PM »
If anyone has a really good grasp of torrent protocol with regards to private trackers (ratios, disable DHT, etc) and wants a MyAnonyMouse invite, ping me...

MrsPete

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #47 on: February 16, 2015, 10:25:05 AM »
I love my Kindle; it is genuinely one of my favorite possessions.  I had a second-generation Kindle that I used for YEARS 'til it just wore out, and I'm not sure what model I have now, but it cost 1/3 as much as the first one and is light years ahead of it in terms of quality.  The newest-newest ones must be even better -- and lower in cost. 

My thoughts on keeping the cost of Kindle reading moderate:

- Do not buy a Kindle assuming you can get books from your local library -- mine has a poor selection, and just like DTB you'll sometimes have to wait.  I'm sometimes involved in purchasing books for our school library, so I have some insight into how this works:  When the librarian chooses to buy a certain book, he or she can choose to buy one e-copy, or maybe ten e-copies, or perhaps unlimited e-copies.  Obviously, the price varies.  And some publishers don't offer all these options.  Anyway, check into what's available to you locally. 

- You can buy a membership to libraries in other cities or to universities.  Anyone can buy a library card for the major university 20 minutes down the road from me; I'm pretty sure it's $10/year for alum and $25/year for the general public. 

- When a Kindle book is on sale (or especially if it's free!) buy it NOW.  These sales don't always last. 

- If a favorite author is coming out with a new book, Amazon often offers his or her previous books at a discount. 

- Some publishers allow you to "share" the book with a friend.  Sharing is a limited thing, and not all publishers allow it. 

- If you "borrow" a book, whether from a library or a friend, it will automatically "return itself" on the appropriate day -- IF your wifi is turned on.  If you're not done with the book, you can leave your wifi off (it should be off anyway to conserve your battery, unless you're purchasing a book) and it'll remain "yours" 'til you turn your wifi back on.  It'd be polite NOT to borrow more books than you can reasonably finish within the time limit.  Other people may be on a waiting list for those books. 

- I don't like ALL books on Kindle.  I don't care for graphic-heavy books on Kindle (i.e., gardening books) because often the photographs or charts end up on different pages.  I don't like cookbooks on Kindle because the recipes don't always fall neatly on one page.  I don't particularly care for the Bible on Kindle because it's slower than a DTB to move between chapters.  But Kindle can't be beat for simple fiction reading. 

- When you're considering the cost of books, don't neglect the cost of continuing to own the physical book.  I have never in my life had enough bookcases.  Pre-Kindle, my husband actually reinforced the floor under the bookcase corner in our office.  Books age, books become dusty.  Even if you give them away regularly, they do pile up. 



eliza

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #48 on: February 17, 2015, 10:22:47 AM »
There are some great leads on free e-books listed in the thread.  In addition to all of the sources above, when I'm in the mood for something new to read (once a week or so), I just jump onto Amazon's Kindle store, select Kindle Best Sellers from menu on the left and then choose top 100 free books.   You can browse the top 100 free books overall or the top free books.  I browse the various categories of reading I enjoy (biography, business/personal finance, travel, historical romance) and usually end up with more books than I need.

I also have a Chrome plug-in that allows me to send content of websites directly to my kindle.  I send all sorts of things I'm interested in reading later - blog posts, forum threads, text-heavy websites -- it works better on some sites than others, but I've found it very helpful.

tlars699

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Re: Paying for Kindle books.
« Reply #49 on: February 17, 2015, 10:35:42 AM »
Another source of cheap books: StoryBundle. They sell books as a bundle and you decide how much you are willing to pay. Usually there are a bunch of writers you've never heard of bundled with a never before seen work from a popular writer in that genre.

https://storybundle.com/

To quote from their FAQ:

Quote
What is StoryBundle?
Glad you asked! StoryBundle is a way for people who love to read to discover quality indie books written by indie authors. You know how it's always hard to find something good to read? StoryBundle hopes to solve that.

We take a handful of books—anywhere from six to nine—and group them together to offer as a bundle. Then you, the reader, can take a look at the titles we've chosen and decide how much you'd like to pay. Think of us like a friend that scours independent books for undiscovered gems, then bundles these titles together for one low price that you decide. Yeah, we mean it; you get to set the price that you want to pay!

There are a fixed set of books that we offer in a bundle, and each bundle is available only for a limited time. If you miss out on the bundle, you'll have to buy the books individually from each author. We feature each bundle only once, once it's gone, it's gone. (We are working on a way to bring back past bundles, but don't have anything concrete yet.)

Again, one of the central concepts is that you get to decide how much each bundle is worth to you. Think each individual book in a bundle of five books is worth $2? That's fine! Pay $10 and get five books! Only think they're worth $1 each because you're not sure if you like a certain genre? That's fine too. If you want to reward these authors and encourage more independent writers by giving a bit more, that's fantastic as well. One reason we started StoryBundle is because indie authors need our support, and we want to do our part in showcasing awesome writers.

This sounds like Reader's Digest and what they used to do. :)