If you know me, you know that I'm not a shopper. Shopping for clothes? Meh. Shopping for shoes? Ick. Shopping for furniture? Shoot me. I do enjoy the gourmet grocery store or a trip to IKEA, but that's about it.
Then there are books...
That's a whole other story.
There's not much I enjoy more than browsing books--both in bookstores and online. There's such possibility. Where am I going to find that next story that sweeps me away or shocks me or keeps me up at night?
And even more irresistible than a regular book is a book ON SALE. Gah. Might as well wave cupcakes in front of me and ask me not to bite. Surprisingly, I'm not attracted to FREE! because I've been burned there and usually question the quality. The only time I download a free read is if it's from a trusted author or publisher or I've gotten a rec from a friend. But that low sale price? Yeah, that gets me.
I'm still selective in which I choose usually. I have so much in my TBR pile already that I want to make sure it's something I will truly read. But if I've heard good things about the book, hear a rec, or the book has great reviews from trusted sources, then I'm usually buying. (And if it's YA or NA, I'm emailing Julie Cross with--"have you read this? Should I get it?" Because she's usually ahead of me on her reading.)
And I've already told you about my discovery at the used bookstore of boxes of romances that sell for $15 (above) for 44 books. Hubs bought me a couple of those. I mean, how could I turn away from that?
Even though I know I'm short on reading time, I can't seem to turn away from a story that sounds interesting. It's like I'm afraid that one day I'll run out of stories to read. If I didn't have an e-reader, I'd probably look like an episode of hoarders, lol. But I guess one can have worse addictions. (At least that's what I tell myself and hubs.)
Plus, the Daily Deals are particularly enticing because you know that the next day that 1.99 sale is going to jump back to 7.99-9.99 so you need to act now. Yeah, I know, that's the point. But clearly, the method works on me.
If you want to keep up with Daily Deals, you can sign up for the Kindle Daily Deal email (and I'm assuming Nook has something similar). You can also follow Dear Author's Daily Deal posts (I like hers because she often gives commentary on the choices that either sells me on it or steers me away), and Smart Bitches, Trashy Books features romance deals regularly too.
Here's what I've bought on sale recently (and haven't read yet)--note that all of these aren't necessarily still on sale. Click covers for more info on the book.
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Have heard really good things about this one, so it was a no-brainer buy.
Saw this one on Dear Author with a rec. I have to say I'm really intrigued at the idea of an alpha male hero who dresses in drag. Not something I'd normally think would work, but I've heard from multiple sources that it's a great book.
The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines
There's a lot of buzz in the New Adult world about this author and lots of strong reviews on this book, so I figured I'd check it out.
Saw this one on Smart Bitches when there was a sale on all things Austen. I recently watched Pride & Prejudice for the first time (the mini-series) and have been watching the first season of Downton Abbey, so I guess I'm just in the mood for something Austen related.
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
This is one I emailed Julie about. She gave me the thumbs up. Plus, what a cute cover and title. :)
Midnight Man by Lisa Marie Rice
A strong rec on Dear Author had be buying this one.
Have heard lots of good things about this one, though I've been warned that I need to be prepared to buy the sequel after finishing this one.
The Black Lyon by Jude Deveraux
I'm making a point to read some old school 80s/90s romances which is part of the reason I'm happy I got those boxes at the used bookstore.
Have heard good things about the author and the blurb intrigued me.
The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty
This was totally a "back cover sounds interesting" buy. I may have checked reviews on Goodreads first, too.
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
Good reviews out there on this one and I love a good time travel story.
I used to read Dean Koontz and I know this is the start to one of his biggest series, so I grabbed it.
As you can see, sales help nudge me into purchasing things outside my normal authors and genres. I love that. I don't need to wait for sales to buy my favorite authors or to buy an erotic romance. I buy those when they come out. But the sales on other stuff helps fill in the gaps with new, outside my genre stuff. Win-win.
So what about you? Do you have trouble resisting a book sale? How do you decide what to buy if it's not an auto-buy author for you?
**I'm not sure why some browsers are not showing the book covers. I've checked it on both my computer and phone and they're showing on my end. Seems like half of you can see them and others can't. I've gone back and added the titles with links in case you can't see the covers. Sorry! Not sure what the issue is.