Another Kindle Question

[Ginny Favers]

Hey! My hubby got me a Kindle Fire for my birthday! Which is today!

However, looking through the books available, I'm kind of flummoxed.

My library only has a few titles, so I've reserved them through Overdrive.

But I'm looking for other books to download through Amazon, and having a really hard time finding "deals" because the searches are crowded by a bunch of self-published crap. Does anyone else have this problem? Searching by lowest price, you get a lot of self-published junk (I know not all self-published stuff is junk, but so much of it is, and since there are so many traditionally-published books I haven't read, I'd rather stick with them). Searching by star-rating, you get books that were padded with good reviews by friends. I just want traditionally published books that are also available as ebooks. I read a few books a week so I'm not sure I can justify spending $10 a pop for ebooks. I just want to find deals on popular books.

Any ideas? I think I heard once about a twitter or blog that posts about deals... can anyone direct me to that? Thanks!

 

[RitaE]

There are numerous sites and blogs which post deals. I think some of the best of them for recommendations are genre specific, so it really depends on what type of books you like to read.

This is a popular blog which posts many deals
http://blog.booksontheknob.org/

Mobileread also has a Deals forum which can turn up some good values and coupon codes. You can also get news and tips on how to better use your Fire in their other forums. For instance, you can get the other vendor apps on their to also buy from Barnes and Noble, Kobo etc.

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=26

You can also join Goodreads or one of the similar social networking sites and look for groups of readers with similar tastes and requirements to you.

 

[Ginny Favers]

Oooh thank you! That is exactly what I am looking for!!

 

[ah1126]

I follow Pixel of Ink and Inspired Reads on Facebook. They list free and discounted books daily.

 

[Kitty-chan]

There's plenty of good stuff free in the public domain through Project Gutenberg, much of which is available in Kindle format.

 

[MrsPete]

You won't find good free stuff every single day. Check back every couple days, and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Some days you'll download five books -- other days you'll find nothing.

This, of course, is disappointing to a new Kindle owner, but that's the way it is.

Also, don't expect to get everything for free. That's just not going to happen. I spend more on books than I did pre-Kindle. It's one of my favorite-favorite-favorite things in the whole world, but I've never claimed it's a money-saver. When people say they've had their Kindles X amount of time and say they've never spent anything for content, I'm always wary of that claim.

One hint: When you find something that you think will interest you, always download it immediately. Quite often you'll look back the next day or so, and it's become a "for charge" item. It's how people get themselves on the best sellers list.

 

[DVCLiz]

You won't find good free stuff every single day. Check back every couple days, and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Some days you'll download five books -- other days you'll find nothing.

This, of course, is disappointing to a new Kindle owner, but that's the way it is.

Also, don't expect to get everything for free. That's just not going to happen. I spend more on books than I did pre-Kindle. It's one of my favorite-favorite-favorite things in the whole world, but I've never claimed it's a money-saver. When people say they've had their Kindles X amount of time and say they've never spent anything for content, I'm always wary of that claim.

One hint: When you find something that you think will interest you, always download it immediately. Quite often you'll look back the next day or so, and it's become a "for charge" item. It's how people get themselves on the best sellers list.

I always feel sad when people post that they get so many free books, and that they NEVER pay for anything. I always think, "They must be happy with the classics that are in the public domain or the publisher's backlist, then." Because - with rare exceptions - nothing that is new or current is likely to be free or discounted below a certain level.

That's fine if you are happy reading old stuff, but I hate for new Kindle owners to be expecting to get The Help for free and then find it's 12.99 and complain. It just doesn't work that way.

 

[Nicolepa]

I always feel sad when people post that they get so many free books, and that they NEVER pay for anything. I always think, "They must be happy with the classics that are in the public domain or the publisher's backlist, then." Because - with rare exceptions - nothing that is new or current is likely to be free or discounted below a certain level.

That's fine if you are happy reading old stuff, but I hate for new Kindle owners to be expecting to get The Help for free and then find it's 12.99 and complain. It just doesn't work that way.

I disagree that the only freebies are the classics or old books. I have downloaded a bunch of books for free that are new (w/in the last year). The key is you have to be willing to try new authors/series. You won't get a New York Times best seller for free. But I've read at least new 4 series since I got my kindle and I haven't paid for any of them. Sometimes I had to check the earlier books out of the library, but eventually I've gotten all of them on the Kindle for free or $1.

The other thing I do is put the books I want on ereaderIQ. It will then inform me when the price goes down (or free), of a book I want. Just this week I got a book for free that I was going to pay $10 in a couple of days.

 

[RitaE]

Well, 3 of the major publishers have settled with the Department of Justice and are doing away with Agency Pricing and it looks like the remaining have an excellent chance of losing the price fixing case - it is possible that we'll return to great sales and coupon codes and specials on the bestsellers.

At least that is my hope.

 

[CathrynRose]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2909544

 

[MrsPete]

I disagree that the only freebies are the classics or old books. I have downloaded a bunch of books for free that are new (w/in the last year). The key is you have to be willing to try new authors/series. You won't get a New York Times best seller for free. But I've read at least new 4 series since I got my kindle and I haven't paid for any of them. Sometimes I had to check the earlier books out of the library, but eventually I've gotten all of them on the Kindle for free or $1.

The other thing I do is put the books I want on ereaderIQ. It will then inform me when the price goes down (or free), of a book I want. Just this week I got a book for free that I was going to pay $10 in a couple of days.

This has been my experience as well.

- I've picked up loads of classics for free, and they're essentially always available from multiple sources.
- Lots of new books are available for free, though you must wade through the junk to pick what interests you.
- Borrowing from the library isn't a reality for most of us; our libraries are still reeling from the budget cuts of the last couple years, and they aren't e-reader friendly yet.
- Borrowing from friends isn't a great deal either; the publishers only allow certain books to be lent, and any book you purchase can only be lent once (I personally have a big problem with that rule -- unlimited lending seems like too much, but lending once isn't fair to the purchaser either).
- You're going to pay for that New York Times best seller that everyone's talking about.

Having said that, keep in mind, too, that the e-reader industry is still in its infancy. I expect that we'll see major changes over the next couple years as the industry evolves. As the prices become more affordable and as people become more aware of e-readers, the demand is increasing. In contrast, our local bookstores seem to have less and less -- and one has gone out of business. What's true today likely won't be true in two, five, ten years.

 

[DVCLiz]

I disagree that the only freebies are the classics or old books. I have downloaded a bunch of books for free that are new (w/in the last year). The key is you have to be willing to try new authors/series. You won't get a New York Times best seller for free. But I've read at least new 4 series since I got my kindle and I haven't paid for any of them. Sometimes I had to check the earlier books out of the library, but eventually I've gotten all of them on the Kindle for free or $1.

The other thing I do is put the books I want on ereaderIQ. It will then inform me when the price goes down (or free), of a book I want. Just this week I got a book for free that I was going to pay $10 in a couple of days.

Sure, I agree that new indie authors are probably available free or cheaply. But what I am talking about are the usual sorts of books people think about - the NYT list, the stuff they see on the endcaps at Target or hear someone discussing at the office, etc. Mainstream quality fiction.

When I see someone saying, "Oh, my gosh, I love my ereader because I NEVER have to pay for books anymore!" I always want to qualify it with a "Yes, but..."
That's really all I meant.

 

[Nicolepa]

Sure, I agree that new indie authors are probably available free or cheaply. But what I am talking about are the usual sorts of books people think about - the NYT list, the stuff they see on the endcaps at Target or hear someone discussing at the office, etc. Mainstream quality fiction.

When I see someone saying, "Oh, my gosh, I love my ereader because I NEVER have to pay for books anymore!" I always want to qualify it with a "Yes, but..."
That's really all I meant.

It's not an all or nothing thing. If my library doesn't have the ebook to check out I just check ou the paper book, like the olden days. I know lots of people with Kindles who spend very little on books (me included). That being said I've read more books in the last 6 months because I was able to get them free and carry them with me always.

I will also say that I am getting to point that if it is a long, hard back book, I'd rather shell out the money so I don't have to hold a big heavy book open.

 

[StephMK]

I love pixel of ink and get their daily emails. I also check the top 100 list frequently. If you go through Amazon, they have a top 100 paid and top 100 free list. I have a ton of books that were free & I have paid highly discounted prices on others that were on sale for a short time.

I love having tons of choices available so that I can pick & choose whatever I'm in the mood to read. I would suggest setting up some folders to help organize your collections. I have sections for cookbooks, misc, scary books, etc. There are all kinds of books available for free or low cost if you don't mind waiting or being flexible.

 

[Ginny Favers]

I read mostly YA. I also write it. My books (available from Random House) are normally $10 a pop on Amazon. Even as an author, I have a problem paying that much for books when I read so much... unless it's one of my friends or favorite authors or I REALLY want to read it. I'd break the bank if I bought all the books I read for $10 a piece.

But I've seen a few discounted to $1.99 or so just for the day, on the Amazon daily deal or just directly from the publisher. These are traditionally published books. They might not be the hottest books out there that everyone is talking about, but I probably have already read those! The only problem is that I will usually find out about them the day after, when the price has gone back up....

I appreciate all of your suggestions!

 

[RitaE]

I read mostly YA. I also write it. My books (available from Random House) are normally $10 a pop on Amazon. Even as an author, I have a problem paying that much for books when I read so much... unless it's one of my friends or favorite authors or I REALLY want to read it. I'd break the bank if I bought all the books I read for $10 a piece.

But I've seen a few discounted to $1.99 or so just for the day, on the Amazon daily deal or just directly from the publisher. These are traditionally published books. They might not be the hottest books out there that everyone is talking about, but I probably have already read those! The only problem is that I will usually find out about them the day after, when the price has gone back up....

I appreciate all of your suggestions!

You might be interested in a site such as this - it is traditionally published authors who have had their rights revert back to them and they sell the backlist books directly to readers. I've find some good bargains here of older books.

http://www.awriterswork.com/index.asp