By James M Jackson
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| Sunrise over the volcano |
I’m at the tail end of a nearly month-long Hawaii trip. On the
first part of the trip, I read paperbacks I had picked up at Left Coast Crime.
At the end of the conference, we shipped all those books home (not
carrying/paying for all that weight on 10 more flights before returning home!)
After that, I relied on my Kindle for reading material.
I keep my Kindle books in folders. Those I have already read
are sorted by Excellent, Good, Okay, Poor, DNF (did not finish). Those not yet
read are sorted into Paid and Free folders. I already had a strong tendency to
read those in the Paid folder first, probably because I had a financial
investment in them.
This was my first trip since I signed up for Kindle
Unlimited (KU) during a promotion Amazon held last year. For less than $9 a
month (normally it’s $9.99) I can borrow and read any books in the KU Library.
Those books are primarily populated by Amazon imprints and indy authors who
choose to have their electronic books exclusive to Amazon and in turn are
included in the KU catalog.
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| Nene |
I had a few books in the Paid folder, both those I had
bought and those Jan purchased, which I have access to through our Amazon’s
family account. After finishing all those in the Paid folder that interested me,
I started to peruse the Free folder and then remembered my KU subscription. I
began browsing that catalog for books with more than 1,000 reviews and higher
than a 4-star rating.
I found one to read and enjoyed it; found and read a second,
which I enjoyed; found and read a third – three for three; found and am enjoying
a fourth.
On this vacation, I haven’t given a thought to the numerous
books I have queued up in the Free folder (other than for this blog). My search
criteria would not disqualify a free book, but it would need to have a lot of
reviews, which few free books do. Given that the big publishers and most small
publishers do not include their books in KU, my sampling is primarily coming
from the Amazon imprints. This whole experience has me wondering about the
effectiveness of free kindle books with Kindle Unlimited readers.
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| Kalij pheasanats |
By signing up for KU, I have changed my purchasing behavior.
Before KU, I would have sampled a bunch of free books, reading those that held
my interest, and deleting those that did not. With KU, I didn’t open a single
one of the free books I had previously downloaded. This, of course, is what
Amazon hopes for. Am I unique in my approach to choosing what book to read next?
What do y’all think?
Amazon does a masterful job of looking out for Amazon.
ReplyDeleteAn organized Kindle! I was so impressed, I hardly got beyond that idea.
ReplyDeleteI find my TBR pile, both e-books and physical ones, is so overburdened that I haven't considered signing up for KU.
I do get Bookbub & Fussy Librarian & a few other cheap & free services, and sometimes find things there that sound so good I get them.
Amazon experiments & changes things all the time. I'm sure they keep a sharp eye on the bottom line. When their interests & the readers' interests coincide, they can be very helpful.
I haven't gone over to KU and still download freebies. I also get a bunch of paperbacks from RWA and a few at booksales. Seems I always have a lot to read.
ReplyDeleteWarren - Amazon does a good job at self-promotion, for sure.
ReplyDeleteKathleen - Getting Kindle Unlimited was an experiment for me fueled by birthday gift cards. 😀
Vicki - What has me intrigued is the segmentation of the marketplace, and how one decision, like buying KU, affects other choices.
~ Jim
I read somewhere that only a small percent of the free books downloaded actually get read. Interesting. I still cling to my paper books, but I have to admit that the allure of not carrying books when I travel sounds good. I have given into downloading recorded books onto my iPhone, which I love.
ReplyDeleteGrace, it's a small step from audio on your phone to books! 🤣
ReplyDelete~ Jim
Enjoyed these photos, Jim. After many years of contemplating KU, I still haven't made up my mind about it.
ReplyDeleteVinnie, I'll evaluate my use of Kindle Unlimited at year's end to determine whether or not I renew.
ReplyDeleteLots more pictures on my Facebook page as part of an album.
~ Jim
Jim, what a wonderful trip you must have been on. I love the pictures. As for me, I still prefer a book I can hold in my hands. Many of them I get from the library for my book clubs or buy used. At least until I get tto Malice where I spend a lot of money on books there.
ReplyDeleteAmazing photos, Jim. What a trip!
ReplyDeleteMy experience with downloaded books boils down to "out of sight, out of mind." I like your folder system and if I ever go over to ebooks I'll try it.
Shari, I agree with your out-of-sight-out-of-mind when it comes to books (physical and electronic), which is what caused me to develop the folders. They take very little time to maintain.
ReplyDelete~ Jim
I organize mine by different categories. Mystery (95%), shorts, writing, epics, um, let's see, oh yeah, I have one in steam-punk. So, the organization isn't all that helpful.
ReplyDeleteNorma-- Had to smile when 95% of your ebooks reside in the "mystery" folder. Perhaps that one could be subdivided. 😀
ReplyDeleteYour organization puts me to shame! I don't download or read many free books (an occasional BookBub or other ad site) because so many of them are iffy. I also won't give away any of my books any more. With the idea of having a loss leader, I put some of my
ReplyDeleteBut reading for a month in paradise...ah, heaven!
Michele -- what little organization I have in my life is usually a desperate attempt on my part to gain some control. At first, I kept all my Kindle books in one list, which I could sort by author, title, date I acquired it, etc. It was so long as to be daunting, and I couldn't remember if I had read something or not. That's when I chose my simple "filing" system, which seems to be working for me.
ReplyDelete~ Jim
Sorry for being late to the party, Jim. I've paid for Kindle Unlimited for about two years and have gotten my monies worth. There are many books I've tried that I wouldn't even have heard of without Unlimited. Some are so good that I go on and buy the author's books, which haven't been listed on Unlimited. It's a great way to launch a series by enticing readers with the first few books. It also helps me justify buying publishers' books that are listed at 7.99 and above. Since I'm saving so much money though Kindle Unlimited, I can afford those higher priced books. And a lot of those books are no better than those I get through Unlimited.
ReplyDeleteEB -- Great to know you are finding KU to be of great value. Jan has a rule that she won't buy any ebook that's priced over $10 -- she'll put her name on the library waiting list instead.
ReplyDelete~ Jim