Ebook Samples: Another Positive

Yes, I am having an ebook love affair, and I just can’t stop singing it from the rooftops. And the reasons to love them just keep occuring to me.

This weekend, I realized that I didn’t have anything new to read. Ordinarily, this would necessitate a trip to Books-a-Million, which is the closest bookstore to my house. I would spend a lot of time browsing the shelves and consume a delicious–albeit pricey–coffee beverage. (Which is actually a double-edged sword since my BAM started locking the bathroom door. Who serves highly caffeinated beverages and then bars you from the bathroom?! But I digress…) I would select a paperback based on the cover, back copy, and first few pages. Then, I’d drive home and hope I liked it. I like bookstores, so for me, that’s a pretty fun outing. Unfortunately, it was late at night and the store was closed. Before my Kindle, I would have been out of luck and forced to reread something.

So I might have decided to order something from Amazon and wait for it to arrive later in the week. Also a great way to buy books, but then I always take the risk that I won’t like what I’ve ordered. The Look Inside feature is great, but it’s limited. I don’t want to spend $10 or more on something only to find that it’s not for me.

But no! Instead, I flip open the laptop, browse Amazon, find a book that appealed to me, and then download a Kindle sample based on the cover and description. The sample is quite lengthy, more extensive than what I would read in the physical store, so I could really get a feel for the plot, theme, and writing style.

And after reading the entire sample, I discovered that I did not like the writing at all and promptly deleted it from my device. (No, I won’t say what it was.) No money spent at all.  I downloaded more samples until I found some that I knew I’d like. I chose one, purchased it, and kept the other samples on my TBR list so that I could buy them later. Pretty dang cool!

What? You don’t own a Kindle? Well, that’s no problem! You can still use the sample feature! All you have to do is download the free reading apps below and have the sample delivered to your PC, Mac, or phone. So even if you are not an ebook convert and are planning to order a paperback, you can still take advantage of the ebook sampling feature. And by the way, you can do this on nook too!

So save yourself some money and download a sample first. Read it in the privacy of your own home or car or boat or train or airplane or bathroom–ewww–and then decide if the book is for you.

I discovered some fun books that way. I’m sure you will too.