# How long after you buy books do you get around to reading them?



## Flopstick (Jul 19, 2011)

Hi. I'm just curious and would like to get an idea of what the typical lag-time between a book being bought and a book being read is. It seems to me that this is something that has probably changed with the advent of e-readers. I'm betting that more than three months will be the most common answer, but maybe I'm wrong - and it will be interesting to see the spread.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Certain authors' books I read immediately. KB authors I *try* to read within a couple months of purchase (if they are not one of the aforementioned "certain authors" list), then other books I read as I get to them.

I also have school books to read in the mean time as well.. This semester for my English class I have to read  A Raisin in the Sun, To Kill a Mockingbird, Grapes of Wrath, and One flew over the Cuckoo's nest, and compare them to the movies. For my criminal psyche classes I have to read Talking with Serial Killers, and Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us. So while I just bought all of those books, I will be reading them soon.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Let's see...

I currently have 154 unread books on my kindle.  I read approximately a book a day, almost always going from oldest downloaded first.  So that's about 5 months worth of reading to get to the book that is the newest downloaded.

Occasionally I buy and read a book right away, especially if I have been waiting for a new release.  Currently I'm re-reading the Pearl S. Buck books that were just kindleized and released on Tueday.  Earlier in the month I read the newest Boyd Morrison the day it was released and SOON I'll read the next book from Michael Hicks on the day of its release.

So, I answered "More than 3 months" as average.


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## Roz Morris (Apr 12, 2012)

Half of my reading choices - fiction and non-fiction - are determined by what I'm working on and what I need to research. So I might have a TBR pile of yummy books I want to dive into when I can read for pleasure, but they keep being bumped by something I have to read in order to feed the book I'm working on. Not that I don't enjoy the books I read for that reason, but it does mean I can't only be ruled by my heart.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Any and all of the above. Basically a span of between 2 minutes and 4 years.  . That is how long I have had my Kindle and I still have books I bought back then I haven't gotten to yet. 

I go with my gut and my mood, so I flip flop all over the place. I stock up on sales of authors I know, I put stuff on my TBR list recommended by other readers like me, and I jump right into a book for the same reasons, recommendations. Just depends on how the mood strikes me. 

The only books on some schedule are those that are from Prime lending (1 month), from regular lending (2 weeks) and from the library (3 weeks).

For those I buy? Anything goes. I figured out, I don't do well on a planned schedule. I tried that, listing the books I am going to read next. But then I always mix it up, something else jumps ahead and so on. 

I get to them all eventually, even the ones I bought 4 years ago.


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## readingril (Oct 29, 2010)

The free books can take quite a while to get around to reading, but if it's a pre-order I've actually spend $$ on.... I invariably read it in a week. I pre-ordered it for a reason!


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## cheriereich (Feb 12, 2011)

It varies. Some books I want to read right away but can't for one reason or another. Others I buy because they look interesting, and it can take me a long time to get to them. I'm somewhat of a compulsive buyer when it comes to books.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

readingril said:


> The free books can take quite a while to get around to reading, but if it's a pre-order I've actually spend $$ on.... I invariably read it in a week. I pre-ordered it for a reason!


I don't want to take the thread off-topic, but this isn't the first time I have seen someone comment that they take longer to get around to free books (if ever). Would you (or anyone who shares your view) tell me why? Do you keep free books separate from paid books? Are free books "just in case I run out of something else to read"?

I don't download a free book unless it's something I think I want to read. They are in the queue like everything else. Usually by the time a free book makes it to the top of my TBR pile, I don't even remember whether it was free or not.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Atunah said:


> Any and all of the above. Basically a span of between 2 minutes and 4 years. . That is how long I have had my Kindle and I still have books I bought back then I haven't gotten to yet.
> 
> I go with my gut and my mood, so I flip flop all over the place. I stock up on sales of authors I know, I put stuff on my TBR list recommended by other readers like me, and I jump right into a book for the same reasons, recommendations. Just depends on how the mood strikes me.
> 
> ...


I'm pretty sure Atunah and I are somehow soul sisters. This is me EXACTLY.  The 'oldest' book I haven't read was 'purchased' on August 25, 2008. I'd purchased my first Kindle in July of 2008.

If I haven't a clue about what to read next I either spin the carousel on my Fire, or go to 'your collection' under 'your account' and sort kindle books oldest to newest. And find the oldest one, that I've not already read, that gets my attention. Or go look on my "FictFact" page and pick the next of a series that I'm following.

There are a lot of other books that I've read fairly quickly after purchase. . . . usually books I'd pre-ordered or purchased on release day by favorite authors. Those usually don't sit to long, even if I there are ones I've had longer waiting.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

crebel said:


> I don't want to take the thread off-topic, but this isn't the first time I have seen someone comment that they take longer to get around to free books (if ever). Would you (or anyone who shares your view) tell me why? Do you keep free books separate from paid books? Are free books "just in case I run out of something else to read"?
> 
> I don't download a free book unless it's something I think I want to read. They are in the queue like everything else. Usually by the time a free book makes it to the top of my TBR pile, I don't even remember whether it was free or not.


I used to have a collection for 'free' but then decided there was no point. Early on I got a bunch of freebies just because I was giddy with the idea of getting free books!  Woo Hoo! Get 'em all. And I did actually read most of those pretty soon after purchase -- well, I didn't have so many books on the device back then and hadn't yet learned the trick of applying a gift card to my account to avoid lots of small charges.

What I found was, while some were decent, and a few even quite good, most were really not my thing. And I'd known that, but thought, "what the heck? It's free. I'll give it a shot." In most cases I just reinforced my original feeling that this or that particular genre wasn't one I cared for. A few were downright BAD -- poorly written, poorly formatted, etc.

So I learned to be selective and now I don't get a freebie unless it is something that actually looks good to me. As a result, I only rarely get one that I don't enjoy. And, at least, it's not because I knew I wouldn't like it but couldn't resist the "Free!" price.

And I've stopped segregating them by price. So, really, when I pick a new book, I don't know what I paid for it unless I go online and check. Which I sometimes do after reading it so I can congratulate myself for getting a great read for almost no money, or for not having wasted much on a poor read.  Only occasionally do I have to say to myself, "well, that was a waste of both time AND money."


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ann, Atunah and I are triplets separated by birth...I do something like what Ann does.  I also tend to get hooked on an author or series and read a bunch in a row, which may mean buying some books and reading them immediately.

Betsy


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

how's this for a corrolary question---  how long between buying and downloading?

with the wi-fi only kindle, sometimes it can be two weeks between buying and downloading for me....

as to time between download and reading, i can really say...  somethings get read right away, some get started and paused and some go into the tbr collection.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I feel so warm and fuzzy now. 



Betsy the Quilter said:


> I also tend to get hooked on an author or series and read a bunch in a row, which may mean buying some books and reading them immediately.
> 
> Betsy


Yeah, I have done the binge reading too. Sometimes I am just not ready to leave. Other times I have to space the series out to not get overload.

As to freebies. I too got a lot in the beginning. It was like someone put a box of random free books in front of my door. I went all "Books Precious" and one clicked like a crazy person. . I stopped that though quickly, when I realized I wouldn't read them and when I did, they were not really that good. Now I just get what is in my genres I like reading and sounds interesting. 
I do have a shelf on Goodreads for freebies and then I separate them into "freebies that might" and "freebies that are". Not sure the purpose of why I am doing that, just been doing it for a while, so I keep going. .

Its kind of neat to look in there and see the books I got free and how I read more in that series because of that. Its more of a reminder for me that way. Or for when the question comes up in the book corner about what ones favorite freebies were. Then its handy too.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

telracs said:


> how's this for a corrolary question--- how long between buying and downloading?
> 
> with the wi-fi only kindle, sometimes it can be two weeks between buying and downloading for me....
> 
> as to time between download and reading, i can really say... somethings get read right away, some get started and paused and some go into the tbr collection.


As I pretty much have WiFi on all the time on my basic Kindle, and I'm usually at home where there's a good WiFi Signal, most of what I buy gets downloaded within a day.

I have been known to buy something, then go to the kindle and download it and start reading it right away. . . .that's somewhat rare, however.


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## MLPMom (Nov 27, 2009)

It varies for me as well. I have books I bought last year I still haven't read. I read and review a lot of books (ARCs and author requests on my blog) so sometimes they come first before I can get to something I have purchased. Then other times I put off some of my ARCs so I can read a book I have been waiting forever for that was finally released. 

I also buy books in series and will purposely wait until all of them are released before I start them, especially if I know they end on cliffhangers and the series has been highly recommended by friends. I do this because I hate waiting 6 months to a year before I can read them. I did this with the Fever series and was so glad I did!


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

Here is confession time.. When I find a good book - the first thing I do is to go to StopYoureKillingMe  and then get the full list of books by that author in the series.. which I proceed to buy over time in chronological order.   I copy the list to my PC and note which ones I have versus which ones I've read.   The only series I've finished is Vince Flynn...     I bounce around a lot - so for most other authors - I have read maybe 25% of them so far.     My excuse - is that I'm a slow reader, still have a full time job, a big house with dogs to manage, and other hobbies.   But I will read all of them eventually, one day.

But to answer your question,  sometimes I read something immediately (like "11-22-63" or a new Vince Flynn book),  but usually, its at least 1-2 months later... if not much later.


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## Margo Karasek (Feb 29, 2012)

If I pay money for the book, I read it immediately after. Always. The only books I let lag are those that I downloaded for free because it's so easy to download more than I can handle at the time. That's why I now try to limit those, unless it's a book I've had my eye on as a possible purchase anyway.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Last yeat I read for the first time a paper book that I'd purchased over twenty years previously!

But I tend to purchase and hoard ebooks when they are reduced in price, so I am in the more than three months category.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

I rarely buy books until I'm ready to read them, so generally I read them straight away. Occasionally I will download a free book or pick up the Kindle Daily Deal, but I will then read those after my current book is finished and before I buy any more.

If I see a book I think I might want, but I'm not ready for it, I put it on my wish list. It's amazing how many books on there get taken off again after second thoughts! If the book is temporarily free or cheap, I'm rarely seduced by the price into buying immediately - I still only get them if I really think I want them.

One of the reasons I don't buy much in advance, is that I like to sample, unless it's a known (to me) author. If I don't then continue with the book straight away, I would have to re-read the first 6% again when I came back to the book. I don't have time to read all the books I want to as it is, without reading parts of each book twice!


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

With freebies or temporary bargains, they can hang around for years. But otherwise, I tend not to buy books until I'm ready to read them so they are read immediately.


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## jaimee83 (Sep 2, 2009)

As I need another book, I download 2 or 3 from a running wishlist.  Before traveling I may download several at once.  I read about 2 books a week so the books may sit for a week or 2.  As I download them they arrive on my Kindle DX and are marked as new.  When I open the 1st book the word new drops from the other books.  If I download several books  sometimes they tend to get lost in the book list so I need to keep a paper list of new books I've downloaded.  I am very very pleased with the Kindle.


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## Michelle1984 (Aug 21, 2012)

I already have about 60 unread books on my kindle...and I just got it.  I like looking through the free books daily, but if I buy a book then I'm pretty interested in it and usually read it right away.


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## Quiss (Aug 21, 2012)

I'm with history_lover.  I only buy books when I'm ready for a new title so they get read right away. 
I don't download freebies because I believe writers need to eat, too 

However, if I'm out of something to read and don't have time to browse I have a list of classics that I grabbed. I just read The Junglebook for the first time! And it ain't Disney  
Next is Tale of Two Cities, which I've also managed to miss during my misspent youth.


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Ann, Atunah and I are triplets separated by birth...I do something like what Ann does. I also tend to get hooked on an author or series and read a bunch in a row, which may mean buying some books and reading them immediately.


Can we make that quadruplets? I'm really bad about snagging freebies, or books with a temporary price drop, but not reading them right away. I'm having to slowly work my way through my library and remove the ones I got for free or cheap that I will realistically never read. There are only so many hours in the day!


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

I usually buy books to read right away.  Only exception is the Kindle Daily Deals as some of those I've bought and not gotten to for a while. Those are the only deals I follow though, so I don't have a big backlog from buying things I see cheap.


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## Justawriter (Jul 24, 2012)

It really depends on how the opening pages grab me and what kind of mood I'm in. I always hope that I'll get pulled deep in to the story. If I am I usually will read straight through. If the story starts to lose me, I'll set it aside, and maybe pick it up again later....or not. I abandon a lot of books, but I read a ton too. If the book starts to drag, I just move on to something else. Sometimes it's really a mood thing. I started the bestselling book GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn and the opening pages did not draw me in. But on a recent plane ride, I was just in the mood for that kind of a story and had heard it was great, so I started in again, and nearly finished the book on my flight cross-country. It was excellent!


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## joeymanley (Aug 25, 2012)

Like a lot of people on this thread, my time between buying and reading is variable. Free books and books-by-Internet-friends often sit longer unread than books by name authors that I've been excitedly anticipating.


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## Not Here Anymore (May 16, 2012)

Interesting topic. I usually sample books if the author is new to me. If I like the sample and buy the book, I read it pretty quickly--within a week or two. I do have some book hoarding tendencies, too.  I have a few favorite authors whose books I am saving. I like having a spare book or two waiting on my kindle for my next plane ride. Don't want to be without something good to read.


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## Audrey Finch (May 18, 2012)

I've got a pile of unread paper books that I can't get to since I started to drive to work - I used to take a forty minute train ride.  Now all my reading tends to be on the iPad (Kindle app) when I get a spare minute.  
Must do better


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## dablab (Feb 10, 2009)

I am all over the place.  I have books from several years ago that I still haven't read.  Some are freebies I downloaded when I first got my kindle, I have since become much more selective.  Many are books that I have a definite interest in, just haven't read yet.  Since getting my kindle I find I read so many different genres that I never used to read when I bought DTB.  When I finish a book I go through my kindle and my wish list and think about what I want to read next.  Is it available to get for the kindle from the library or prime lending or do I not care?  There are some authors I have discovered here that I buy and read almost immediately, Boyd Morrison and Michael Hicks just to name 2, but there are also others.  I just go by my mood.  I am always adding books to my kindle and wish list.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I am not usually the type that stocks up on books.  I download and read them one at a time.  Weird, I know, but that's how I like to do it.


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## gina1230 (Nov 29, 2009)

It...could...be...years.


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## lvhiggins (Aug 1, 2012)

Shameless book hoarder here.  I buy more books than I'll ever have time to read....


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## amygamet (Aug 26, 2012)

I have so many great books on my Kindle, yet I think my little kids might be in college by the time I get to read them all.


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## Marc Davies (Aug 9, 2012)

A book is a spur of the moment purchase for me.  I get a craving for a certain type of book which has just the right atmosphere and environment to suit my mood.  If I don't start reading it within a couple of days of purchasing it, the chances are my mood will change and I won't feel like reading it anymore.

Needless to say, I never have more than one or two unread books on my shelf.  There's no point in me purchasing more than I need at any given time because I might never get around to reading it.


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## alawston (Jun 3, 2012)

I have at least half a dozen books that I received as Christmas presents which are still waiting to be read. There's even one from Christmas 2010 that I haven't yet got to. They were all very much appreciated as presents and I fully intend to read them, but... whatever, the stars haven't been right.

The Kindle's kind of to blame, really. I use it for commuting reading, which is my main reading time these days. And when it comes to that early morning decision between the light little Kindle with the easy-reading Indie pap, or the hefty hardback... well, bad luck Angela Carter, you know?


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## hs (Feb 15, 2011)

It varies from soon (within a couple of days) to many months. Although I try to go through the books on my e-reader in chronological order based on when I downloaded them, a great deal depends on what my inclination happens to be when I finish my current book. On the other hand, if I buy a printed version of a book, I almost always read it right away. I'm not sure what that says about me.


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## D. Nathan Hilliard (Jun 5, 2010)

I usually finish a book before buying the next one, so the time from purchase to reading is usually less than an hour. There are some exception, but I notice if I don't get to reading a book within a few days it starts 'gathering dust' as I move on to something else.


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## bookworm77 (Mar 10, 2012)

It often depends on how much I paid for the book.


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## LTucker (Aug 8, 2012)

If it's longer than a week I probably won't get to it.


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## Zoe Cannon (Sep 2, 2012)

It varies too much for me to say. For some books it's minutes. For others it's years.


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## LolitaLuvsBooks (Jun 21, 2012)

If I have purchased a book, it usually means I really want to read it and will do so within a few days of buying it.

Now this might sound a little bad but...if it is a free book and I'm just looking for something to fill the space before I find another book I want to buy, I will usually read it within a week or two   lol


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

I generally only buy a book I want to read NOW, if I buy one that seems interesting but I have no time for it at the moment I will never read it.

Dawn


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## Flurries Unlimited (Jan 24, 2012)

Anyone who reviews certainly is under the gun with reading.  I honestly need a deadline or a particular interest in the topic to motivate me to read for pleasure.  I've had some 'get organized' and Jane Austen pastiches on my Kindle for months but haven't gotten to them yet...


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## Jackal Lantern Books (Aug 30, 2011)

I'm actually not the type to download books willy nilly, I usually have some idea of what I'm looking for. I don't get to read as often as I'd like, just too busy, so that's why I don't go too crazy with the downloads. I typically have 2-3 books on my kindle ready to read, as I might get into one and just not care for it, and then have at least another option or two to try. I find that if I have too many to choose from I just spend all my time deciding rather than reading


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## Russell Brooks (Dec 23, 2010)

I usually read a book within one month of purchasing it.


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## vikiana (Oct 5, 2012)

I'm a very keen reader but i don't have a particular period for it. It very depends of what kind of work I have and how much time I have. If I don't have anything important and urgently to do i can start read it on the same day I bought it and finished it for a couple of days (a week if the book is thicker)  If I have other staff to do I don't start the book until I'm not completely sure I can read it smoothly for a week. I hate to start something and leave it after that for months.  What do you think?



crebel said:


> Let's see...
> 
> I currently have 154 unread books on my kindle. I read approximately a book a day, almost always going from oldest downloaded first. So that's about 5 months worth of reading to get to the book that is the newest downloaded.
> 
> ...


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Interesting results.  I have never been the type to stack up books with the intention of reading them. That has changed just a bit with the Kindle, but not much.  When I buy a book, I read it, and then buy another.


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## vikiana (Oct 5, 2012)

Jason_donovan said:


> Same day or i wouldn't bother buying it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


There's always an exeption situation so don't miss the chance having a good book just because you are not going to buy it on the very same day. What do you think?


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## NancyHerkness (Aug 1, 2012)

Some books I dive into immediately because I've been waiting for them to be released.  Some books on my Kindle (generally the freebies I've learned about from Pixels of Ink) I probably will never read.  I have good intentions, but I know too many writers who I try to help out by downloading their books so they can make a list.  My reading time is limited, so I am very careful about how I spend it.


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## Mark Young (Dec 13, 2010)

Print or eBooks? I imagine we are talking about eBooks. I seem to acquire them in bunches, primary fictions, books on writing, and politics. I get to them, depending upon my writing schedule and life in general, within 2-3 weeks.


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## amishromanceauthor (Sep 27, 2012)

I find that if I don't start reading them right away then they end up unopened forever.


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## Jenni Norris (Oct 10, 2012)

I read my Kindle downloads in strict order of download, regardless of price! If I have downloaded it, it's good as far as I am concerned and I am fairly careful to only download stuff I really want to read. If I make a mistake I delete the book from my Kindle, and my account, as I want my account to be a list of everything I have read.  The only exception to this rule is cookbooks, which I might browse through at any time, though I do find this frustrating - I'm not sure cookbooks are quite suited to Kindle


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