Friday, July 01, 2011

Friday's List: Samples

I've had my iPad for over a year now, and I still think it's a nifty little device. Pricey, but comes in very handy for travel or those times when I'm away from my main computer. And it's also a very efficient e-reader; in fact, I've looked at the Nook and the Kindle, and I think I really do prefer the iPad (but to each his own, of course). I haven't done a huge amount of e-reading -- just enough to discover (as I figured I would) that I really like reading actual books as opposed to the electronic kind. But one of the really nice things about having the Kindle app (downloaded free from Amazon) is that I've been able to take advantage of Amazon's sampling feature. And that's allowed me to download free samples of interesting-looking books before making up my mind about whether or not to read the whole work. Here's what I've "sampled" so far:
  1. The Attenbury Emeralds. Jill Paton Walsh
  2. Fall of Giants. Ken Follett
  3. A Game of Thrones. George R.R. Martin
  4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Stieg Larsson
  5. Henrietta's War. Joyce Dennys
  6. In the Garden of Beasts. Erik Larson
  7. Leviathans of Jupiter. Ben Bova
  8. A Lonely Death: An Inspector Rutledge Mystery. Charles Todd
  9. Love You More: A Detective D.D. Warren Novel. Lisa Gardner
  10. Miss Hargreaves. Frank Baker
  11. Mr. Chartwell. Rebecca Hunt
  12. On Borrowed Time. David Rosenfelt
  13. Separate Beds. Elizabeth Buchan
  14. West of Here. Jonathan Evison
  15. What the Night Knows. Dean Koontz
  16. The Winter Ghosts. Kate Mosse
  17. Wish You Were Here. Stewart O'Nan
  18. Wolf Hall. Hilary Mantel
  19. 13, rue Therese. Elena Mauli Shapiro
The samples are usually somewhere around twenty-five to fifty pages, or the first few chapters of each book. But after all these downloads, I've actually gone on to read just one of the titles (Mr. Chartwell). I've got another downloaded (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), but haven't read it yet. This doesn't mean I'm not interested in reading the other books I've sampled -- just haven't had the time yet. Maybe if I cut back on all that sampling....
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5 comments:

  1. StaciJuly 2, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    I think the sampling idea is fantastic!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 3, 2011 at 1:10 PM

    A very neat feature, indeed! A bit like digital bookstore browsing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ann SummervilleJuly 3, 2011 at 5:34 PM

    smashwords.com has samples too.
    Ann

    ReplyDelete
  4. (Diane) Bibliophile By the SeaJuly 3, 2011 at 8:13 PM

    I love my iPad as well, except for outdoor reading, when I turn to a print copy of the Kindle (which is wonderful) IMO.

    The samples are a great way to preview.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Boyett-BrinkleyJuly 3, 2011 at 9:21 PM

    I really like the sample, or preview, feature. It has actually kept me from buying some books that I probably would not have liked very much. I am with you, though, I really like real books.

    ReplyDelete

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