Book Bub

[watervole]

 I'm taking time out from social media and also reading the news.  It was pushing my stress levels too high (though DW is much better in this regard than Facebook is).

 

But having picked up yet another Pratchett ebook at a low price and another book that looks interesting for under a quid, I suppose I ought to mention it.

 

https://www.bookbub.com/ebook-deals/free-ebooks  allows you to sign up for a mailing list (I limit it to one post a week, as it's too much if they send it daily) that tells you of discounted books on Kobo and Amazon.

 

They're usually popular old classics like Pratchett (that I've already paid for in paper form, so feel no guilt about getting a cheap copy), popular books that have already sold in vast numbers and are now on a brief offer for those who weren't tempted at full price (just read a really interesting biography of Captain Cook that is not something I'd previously have considered reading), and occasionally books that are newly released and they're hoping to generate publicity by getting positive reviews.  I suspect many of the books listed on their website fall into that category.

 

You can tell it what kind of books you prefer, so I get mostly offers for SF/fantasy/non-fiction/bestsellers.  Getting a selection of about ten a week works for me, and I suspect I'm buying about one a fortnight. (I bought two this week, one Pratchett and one by an author I've never tried, but looked interesting)

 

I'm also spending more time reading books in the time that was previously wasted doom-scrolling FB and the newspapers!

Comments

[kotturinn]

Tempting, but I shall sit firmly on my hands this time! I'm trying not to acquire too many books in any form as I still have a fairly large TBR pile (exception made for Ursula Verson writing as T Kingfisher!). So when I need a variation on my pile (trying to focus on non-fiction bit of it) I poke the library catalogue. So I'm currently re-reading my way through all the Discworld books, courtesy of Cambridgeshire Libraries!

[watervole]

I'm actually managing - thanks to careful record-keeping on Good Reads - to pretty much balance my intake to the number I've recently read.

My TBR pile is probably no more than a dozen books.

[kotturinn]

I am impressed. Am nowhere near that!

[watervole]

I find I'm actually better at this with ebooks than paper books. Possibly because they're easier to read in bed.

[julesjones]

I like Bookbub but as a result have far too many "I will get that because it is free and therefore a way to see if I like the author's writing" still sitting in my Kobo account.

I also find some of the offers useful for getting a cheap ebook copy of something I already have (or had) in paperback. I take my Kobo everywhere now instead of paper books, because I can keep a lot more books in my backpack that way. :-)

[watervole]

Definitely, with regard to books one already has. I'm getting a good, far more portable, set of Pratchett.

I'm managing to avoid buying too many. So far, at any rate.