Where Do You Feed Your (Reading) Habit?

I had an author guest scheduled for today, but as you know, Life Happens and she wasn’t able to stop by. I like to talk books on Wednesdays, but I was a little stumped about what part of books I should focus on today.

I happen to be part of a big scifi and fantasy promotion this weekend (you can actually start looking now if you want). It is focused on Kindle Unlimited (my books aren’t in that program) and Kobo free books (my books are on Kobo and I have some freebies there, including Girl Gone Nova: Part One, which is featured in the promotion).

This got me to thinking about how we read and where we buy our reads. So I thought that might be a fun discussion for this “Why I Wrote” Wednesday. Only we’ll call it “Why I Read” or perhaps “Where I Feed My Reading Habit?”

I primarily shop for books on Amazon. I’m a prime member and have been since it was first introduced. Plus, Amazon opened up a whole new world of book shopping for me back in [gulp] the 90’s. Yeah, I’ve been a customer almost from the moment Amazon opened its virtual doors. They first hooked me when I realized that I could collect used books from favorite authors and price compare while shopping from HOME (this is HUGE bonus for a confirmed hermit). I buy a mix of print and digital, but am leaning more and more toward digital as we are downsizing in preparation for our “end date.”

Additionally, I grew up in a small town and while I’ve lived in places that have bookstores, in the city, having a bookstore does not always mean a close bookstore.

Plus, it is physically impossible for a single bookstore to display all the books available to read.

It’s embarrassing to confess, but I didn’t know a bookstore didn’t have ALL the books I might want to read for a long time. Hey, I was young once. This is partly what got me started writing. I’d hit the library and the bookstore and pour over my haul like Gollum with the One Ring. I’d vow to read slowly, to savor, to make the reads last.

Then I’d burn through my pile.

I’m a fast reader. And I can’t seem to stop reading fast. The only way to slow me down is to write my own. LOL

And no, I wasn’t reading every available book. (I’ve blogged before about the chemistry a reader feels for the way an author uses words, the stories they choose to tell, and so on. This blog isn’t about that.) But I could burn through a lot of books at a pretty fair clip. Writing all the words definitely slows me down.

But I digress. This blog post is about how you find the books you love, and how you read them. So, ahem, let’s get started:

Where do you buy books:

1. Amazon (digital, print or audio)

2. Barnes & Noble (Digital or print)

3. iBooks (it’s digital only, but they do have audio…)

4. Kobo (digital only, but they are getting ready to add audio component)

5. GooglePlay (digital only)

6. From a favorite bookstore (Indie, chain and do you buy digital or print — keep in mind that some bookstores do offer a way for readers to buy digital from their websites)

7. Other (Costco, Walmart, your local grocery store)

You can, of course, bash your non-preferred vendors, but I’d rather keep the discussion focused on what you like about YOUR vendor. 🙂

How do you read your books?

1. Kindle or other dedicated eReading device (Nook or Kobo Glo for instance)

2. On a table, such as iPad

3. On your cell phone

4. Print (occasionally or FOREVER loyal)

5. Listen to your books

Are you vendor loyal or do you follow the price?

Do you read on apps so you can shop the various vendors?

I saw a recent Facebook post about where you read, but that’s more about where you’d LIKE to read, isn’t it? If you’re like me, you read when and where you can. But if you’d like to share your favorite reading spot, I won’t complain. Because I love talking reading!

For me, a reading spot is about a) comfort; and b) favorite drink and treat close to hand. I like an immersive reading experience, but will also read in snatches if that’s all I can manage.

I hope you’ll share your preferences and not just because I love comments so much that I pick a favorite to receive my monthly AnaBanana gift basket ($25 value).  Recipient is announced the first blog post of the new month.

And guess what? It’s the first post of the month! So, Houston, we have a winner!

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p style=”text-align: center;”>Lee Koven!

Congratulations! AnaBanana will be in touch with you!

Perilously yours,

Pauline

P.S. If you shop #Kobo or #iBooks or #Nook, or #Amazon, or even #GooglePlay, you’ll find my books there. And Girl Gone Nova: Part One is free on all of them. 🙂

Buy the complete novel or read it in parts. First part is FREE!