I was on Goodreads yesterday looking at who had a copy of my
books. You know, a sort of vanity search. I was surprised when I found one
person who claims to have more than 8,000 books on her Kindle. I'm not sure of
the book limit for a Kindle, but I know you don't have to have all your books
on the physical device.
For months now I've grabbed every free Kindle book that even
came close to something I may read one day. As of today, I have 945 books.
That's counting short stories, research books, fiction, and nonfiction. I read
three books at a time (two fiction and one nonfiction), and it takes me about a
week to finish them. Many of the ones I read are sent to me by publishers and
aren't counted in the total. They are automatically deleted after a certain
time.
In addition to the free books, I occasionally buy books for
several reasons. One, the book is on my book club's reading list or two, it is
a book I want to read.
The bottom line is that I don't need any more free Kindle
books. To limit the number of books
I get and to improve the possibility that I will actually read a book
downloaded, I've come up with a method to find free books. Here's how it works.
Instead of subscribing to the electronic newsletters
announcing free books, I periodically (weekly is probably best) look for books I
like to read. My favorite fiction is Christian Thriller/Mystery/Suspense. So, I select
a book in that category, M.K. Gilroy's Cuts Like a Knife, for example, and find
it on Amazon.com. Next, click on Kindle Edition, scroll down to where it says "Look
for Similar Items by Category" (near the bottom of the page). Look
for the tag that matches your interest. In this example, it will look like this:
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Religion &
Spirituality > Christianity > Christian Fiction > Suspense
Each item separated by > is a link. If you want to see
all Christian Fiction, click on it. But, in my example, I would click on
Suspense. This will take you to a page showing a long list of books in the Christian Suspense category. Look on
the far right side of the page where it says "Sort by" and select "Price Low to High" from the pull-down list. When you do you'll see the list
sorted with the cheapest books on top. Naturally, the free ones are shown
first. If you decide to "buy" one, make sure it is still free when
you get to the page to buy it. If you already own it, Amazon will warn you
before you buy it.
Oh darn, I just ordered ten more books while I was there researching this article. And,
here's something else to watch out for, the last one I ordered was $.99 and I
didn't notice. I can ask for a refund, but for a buck it's hardly worth the
effort.
Have fun.
