# But you didn't read it!



## D.A. (Mar 29, 2012)

Okay, how many books (just an average) do you buy a year that unintentionally never rise to the top of your pile and that wind up in the bought-but-not-read category?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Just because I haven't read it yet doesn't mean I won't. 

There are a very very few that I buy and then later realize that I probably never will read 'em. . . .but that was no different with paper. Except that now I can't just put 'em in a box of stuff to give away when the Charity Shop calls and says they'll have a truck in my area. Though, if anything, that fact has made me _more_ careful about not buying stuff unless I'm pretty sure. If there's any initial doubt I just get the sample or wish list it.

Now, there are some I've _tried_ to read. . . .but found them not to my taste for some reason or another.  Another reason to sample.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

Well, I don't normally buy a book until I'm ready to read it. The exceptions to this are freebies or books on my to-read list which suddenly drop in price and I figure by the time I get around to reading it, I'll have missed a good deal. So most of the books I have waiting to be read are freebies and a few bargains. I currently have 43 "bought" but unread books. Some have been waiting more than a year but like Ann says, that doesn't mean I'll never read them.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I actually just made shelfs on goodreads for the books I bought since I got my Kindle at the end of 2008 and haven't read yet. I will eventually read most of them though. I buy a lot of stuff when its on sale. It was fun going through just now through my manage kindle page and see the deals I used to get in the first couple of years or so of owning my Kindle. 

So I got a bout 200 I still need to read.  . Out of those I will probably never read about 10. Those were some I bought within weeks of getting my Kindle and I went a bit crazy with bargains and freebies.  

But the rest, I will get to eventually. Its just that I am all over the place. I buy sales, then I buy something out of the blue to read right away, or I get something recommended and have to read it now, or one of my favorite author comes out with a new one, then the library........ You get the idea.  

Its not like the books are going anywere. They'll be there when I am ready for them. Meanwhile, I save money buy buying lots of them when they are on sale.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Atunah said:


> I actually just made shelfs on goodreads for the books I bought since I got my Kindle at the end of 2008 and haven't read yet. I will eventually read most of them though. I buy a lot of stuff when its on sale. It was fun going through just now through my manage kindle page and see the deals I used to get in the first couple of years or so of owning my Kindle.
> 
> So I got a bout 200 I still need to read. . Out of those I will probably never read about 10. Those were some I bought within weeks of getting my Kindle and I went a bit crazy with bargains and freebies.


Yeah. . . I have some of those too. In the early days of kindle, the availability of inexpensive -- even free! -- books kind of went to my head. I grabbed 'em all, rationalizing that, while it might not be my favorite thing, it was something I could read if there was nothing else available. I'd not yet realized that instant availability via the Amazon store meant that I'd never again have nothing else available. 

But I do go back every now and then and look at the oldest pages on MYK. . .sometimes I go ahead and decide to get rid of things. . .especially if they were free and they're also not something my brother, who now shares my account, would be interested in.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I attempt once in a while to cull out free stuff that nobody will ever read. The only issue I run in to is that when I finally make it to the page I need to be and I delete something, it jumps to the first page again. Its a pain to get rid of stuff that is in the middle of my 140 or so pages.


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## LGOULD (Jul 5, 2011)

What gets my goat is people who don't read the books they download but still feel free to review them.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Atunah said:


> I attempt once in a while to cull out free stuff that nobody will ever read. The only issue I run in to is that when I finally make it to the page I need to be and I delete something, it jumps to the first page again. Its a pain to get rid of stuff that is in the middle of my 140 or so pages.


True. You kind of have to keep track of where you are. I find if I use the "your collection" section and sort by date purchased, when I find one I'm not sure about I can go to the MYK book page in a different tab and search for the title. I like that listing too, because I can put a star rating which will help me remember if I've read it or not.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Atunah said:


> I attempt once in a while to cull out free stuff that nobody will ever read. The only issue I run in to is that when I finally make it to the page I need to be and I delete something, it jumps to the first page again. Its a pain to get rid of stuff that is in the middle of my 140 or so pages.


Atunah and Ann-

You can go to Your Account, and under Digital Content, go to "Your Collection." You will probably have to log into your Amazon account again.

Select "Kindle Items" from the drop down menu in the upper right. It should show your Kindle books. Then, you can select "Date Acquired" above the list on the right, and click on the little arrow to the right of that to select the sort order.

You'll get a list of your books with checkboxes on the far left side. Pick the ones you want to delete and a drop down menu from the middle of the header will appear to allow you to pick the action you want to perform. You can keep picking items after the drop down menu appears. You can also change the sort order after you start selecting without losing items already selected. The drop down menu will tell you how many items are selected.

When you are done selecting items, you can choose "Move to trash" from the drop down menu.

This puts items in the trash, and they won't be visible in Manage Your Kindle or in your archives (not sure this is true--it looks like they still show up in your archives? I need to check this with an eInk Kindle). You will be able to retrieve them from the trash if you change your mind or make a mistake. You can also look at the Trash to make sure nothing is in there that shouldn't be.

Betsy


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I never really had a problem with that before e-books. Now it's a minor problem, in that I probably have 20 or so freebies I've picked up from time to time that I thought looked like they _might_ just possibly interest me, so why not?  I've also grabbed some free (or very cheap) collections of public domain books that, at most, I'll only read some of within each collection. However, anything I've actually paid money for gets read (though sometimes not all the way if it turns out not to be very good).


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> Atunah and Ann-
> 
> You can go to Your Account, and under Digital Content, go to "Your Collection." You will probably have to log into your Amazon account again.
> 
> ...


Oh, I've done that too. What would make it perfect is if I could then _empty the trash! _

Oh! Wait! Wow! THAT wasn't there before. . .when you look in the trash you can select them and then the option comes to 'delete from trash' or 'return to your collection'. That's definitely new since the last time I went through things. . .though admittedly it was some time ago. Woo Hoo!

Yes. . . .I'm easily amused. 

Oh.

Wait again.

Nope. . . .it _says_ delete from trash but when you try it says you can't delete them in case you want to download them again.

So I'm back to wanting to be able to empty the trash.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Oh, I've done that too. What would make it perfect is if I could then _empty the trash! _
> 
> Oh! Wait! Wow! THAT wasn't there before. . .when you look in the trash you can select them and then the option comes to 'delete from trash' or 'return to your collection'. That's definitely new since the last time I went through things. . .though admittedly it was some time ago. Woo Hoo!
> 
> ...


I don't really care about that if it actually moves them from the archives as well as Manage Your Kindle...but I don't think it does...


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

Thanks Ann and Betsy, I'll look into both of those options. I think if I want them to be gone completely, opening the collections in one tab and then just searching for what I want gone in another might work the best.
Some of those clunkers I have in there really need to be gone, like way gone.


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## cheriereich (Feb 12, 2011)

Before I got my Kindle, I used to go to the library book sale twice a year and get tons of books (gotta love $3 per box book days!). So I have all those books still to read. Then, I got my Kindle, and I've downloaded and purchased a lot of books. I could never get a book again and have enough to read for at least 10 years, if not more.

Does that mean I'm going to stop buying books? Nope. Not a bit, but it may take a while to read all that I really want to read one of these days.


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

NogDog said:


> I never really had a problem with that before e-books. Now it's a minor problem, in that I probably have 20 or so freebies I've picked up from time to time that I thought looked like they _might_ just possibly interest me, so why not?  I've also grabbed some free (or very cheap) collections of public domain books that, at most, I'll only read some of within each collection. However, anything I've actually paid money for gets read (though sometimes not all the way if it turns out not to be very good).


Oh dear, I haven't even thought about all the freebies I got and haven't read yet in my post. I was only talking about books I spend money one, even if it was just 25 cents, which there were a few of those in the early days. 

I think I am going to have to take the 5th on the freebie issue.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Ann, can't you select DELETE from the Manage Kindle and they are deleted for good?  I've done that with a few books--and they are gone and no longer downloadable.  They are as if I never purchased them.  But that may not be what you are after.

I have some freebies that I might never get to, not even to sample.  I know I have passed them by a number of times without being interested enough to lift a finger. 

For books I buy, there are several that I will not finish--usually due to complete lack of interest (yes, I sample.  That doesn't always save my bacon).  I actually just returned a trad published book.  The sample was Sooooooooooooooooo good and then, and then...it got into some offensive material that I had no way of knowing about...

I sample everything I am spending money on (except for my must-buy author list of about 5 authors).  There's a good chance that means I'll read at least half the book after spending money on it.  There are not...more than 4 of those on my TBR right now.  

I have about 5 on the shelf (literally) that I did buy and got halfway through.  I keep telling myself to finish them, but probably won't.  Mostly due to boring bits or lack of empathy for the character.  These all came highly recommended, but they aren't my thing.


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## Alpha72 (May 9, 2012)

That happens to me all the time.


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## 31842 (Jan 11, 2011)

I actually made a collection on my Kindle for "started" books that I never got around to finishing.  I've had my Kindle for exactly a year (Happy Birthday to my Kindle!) and there are 68 books in that collection.  Someday I might get back to them... someday...


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## Steph H (Oct 28, 2008)

Yeah, I have a "DNF" collection -- did not finish. But I keep 'em, 'cause you never know.

As for 'all the books bought but not yet read' -- well, I'll get to them _someday_....really!


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## Rick Gualtieri (Oct 31, 2011)

In the past year: 1

I'm very selective with my kindle. I only buy it if I intend to read it.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Excluding Daily Deals and other sale items, I've got three bought in 2012; I plan on reading them in the next few months. I used to be a lot worse, buying on a whim, but I've made more of an effort to buy only when I'm ready to read. In most case, I'll probably never get around to most of the Daily Deals, and it's probably just a wast of money for a someday maybe I'll want to read this, but the temptation is hard to resist.

FYI, here are my three:

_Infinite Jest_ by David Foster Wallace
_Genesis_ by Bernard Beckett
_Ready Player One_ by Ernest Cline


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## LilianaHart (Jun 20, 2011)

None  Usually when I buy a book, I read it immediately. And usually I'm so desperate to find something new to read that I won't let a book sit for long without picking it up. Especially since I'm on vacation right now and am reading a little over a book a day. There's just not enough time to get to them all


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

I'll get there sooner or later.  I read books in the order I buy them, alternating genres, oldest first.  Only to-be-read books are on my Kindle.  Right now that number is about 150 - around six month's worth.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

MariaESchneider said:


> Ann, can't you select DELETE from the Manage Kindle and they are deleted for good? I've done that with a few books--and they are gone and no longer downloadable. They are as if I never purchased them. But that may not be what you are after.


Yes. . .that's what Atunah was originally talking about. When you have many MANY pages in MYK it's a bit of an annoyance to go through them to delete because once you delete one it flips you back to the _beginning_ of the list. You have to reset the sort again, and the only way to get to the page you were on is to page through.

Which is why I suggested using the 'your collection' listing to find things you want to delete and then search in MYK to do the actual deletion. Tabs in the browser really help with this.

Betsy's point was that you can put books in the trash in 'your collection' but that really is just like putting them in a box in the attic. You still have them, you know, just in case you change your mind. You can't even take that box out to the curb for pick up to get it right out of the house.  You have to go through it one by one and carry each book down the attic stairs and out to the trash can one at a time. Can't take two at a time. Just one.

It's possible, just pretty inefficient when you know you really don't want anything in the box.


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## Katie Salidas (Mar 21, 2010)

I have quite a few books in my TBR pile. I'll get to them all eventually, but some do get read faster than others. But, as others have said, just because I haven't gotten to them yet doesn't mean I won't. There is a reason I purchased them.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

KateDanley said:


> I actually made a collection on my Kindle for "started" books that I never got around to finishing. I've had my Kindle for exactly a year (Happy Birthday to my Kindle!) and there are 68 books in that collection. Someday I might get back to them... someday...


I've stopped reading plenty of books too but I didn't count them because when I stop reading a book I don't ever plan to go back to them. I don't count them as unread because I did read enough to decide I didn't like it and didn't want to finish it.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Yes. . .that's what Atunah was originally talking about. When you have many MANY pages in MYK it's a bit of an annoyance to go through them to delete because once you delete one it flips you back to the _beginning_ of the list. You have to reset the sort again, and the only way to get to the page you were on is to page through.
> 
> Which is why I suggested using the 'your collection' listing to find things you want to delete and then search in MYK to do the actual deletion. Tabs in the browser really help with this.
> 
> ...


Since the books deleted through "Your collection" disappeared from Manage Your Kindle, I was hoping that they disappeared from one's archives, too. It's really annoying that they don't. I'm thinking it's an oversight on Amazon's part, since they now let one delete permanently from MYK. I think I'm going to give them feedback on that. If they would disappear from archives, I don't really care if they stay in the Trash or not, I just want to not have to look at them when I'm scanning the archives looking for the next book.

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Exactly!  And being able to delete them in bulk would make it easier. I'll send feedback too. . .good idea. . . .


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## SlenkDee (Jun 20, 2012)

Not very often, but when I do they are usually big books that are at least relatively difficult. Say I buy 5 books at a time -- I'll tell myself I will read the hardest one last, but chances are I'll just delay that one past the next set of 5 easier books, etc., etc.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky and a big ol' biography of the John Adams family are the only two I've bought but not read in the past year.

David Slenk


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## amiblackwelder (Mar 19, 2010)

I love freebies and have about 500 on my kindle and about 100 on my kobo and nook. I always look for a genre and cover I like and then read the blurb and if I like, I get. No harm so far-


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

I have lots of books I haven't read yet - but doesn't mean I won't someday (maybe after I retire in 2.5 yrs) .  Most are back books in a series and I'm reading them in sequence.  But bouncing around between authors.  So some series I've finished, some just started.  I have downloaded very few books  that I've decided I won't read.  Just need more time.


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## Darlene Jones (Nov 1, 2011)

Less than half a dozen. If I don't like the sample, I don't buy. I've only been burned a couple of times thinking the sample was good and then not liking and not finishing the book. I do not download free books and certainly wouldn't just because they are free. I believe in paying the author for their work.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Darlene Jones said:


> I believe in paying the author for their work.


I don't follow.

Of course, if the author is selling the book via legitimate sites and someone steals it and distributes it freely without regard to copyright, that's wrong. I don't get those sorts of 'free' books either.

But if the author is the one who has decided to give the book away for free, that's an entirely different situation. Is your position really that you won't buy a book unless the author is charging money for it? Even if it's something that looks good and you really want it?

Mind you, especially if it's _permanently_ free, it might be an indication that the author doesn't think much of their work so why should we? I admit I'm not as keen to try freebies in that case.

But when they put it on sale temporarily to entice those on the fence to give it a try. . . . well, I just think that's different. In that case it's "Marketing 101": they want to draw attention to their little fish in the great big sea. And if it's something I _have_ been on the fence about or is something I am actively interested in, I'm very happy to get it for a bargain price. And "free" is about the best bargain price there is.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

To Darlene's point:

If an author posts a thread here on KindleBoards saying "please download my book from Amazon--it's free today!" and it's in a genre that I like, who am I to say "no?"    It's my job to make the members happy, after all.

Betsy


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

if I live to about 150 years old and stop buying now I should be able to through my TBR list...


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

What's the point of having a library of books, every single one of which you've read? I read some books immediately I buy them, but some linger for years before I pick them up. It always means I've got a new reading experience to look forward to, and so that's absolutely fine.


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## Phil Berry (Jun 22, 2012)

Have chewed my way joylessly through many books, as at some point in my life some wierd 'completion ethic' got into my head.  Exception - Infinite Jest (page 590), though I will go back to it.  It's unique.  It leers at me from the bookshelf...'you are weak, finish me!'


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I tend you read one book at a time, so that doesn't happen to me.  However, my fiance, Melanie, buys books like crazy.  Lots of them end up unread.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

I never had a TBR pile when I read paper books and haven't changed habits since I've gone digital. I buy, read it or decide not to and delete. Occasionally I hear about some great deal and download a book that sits a little while before I get around to opening it and seeing if I like it, but not often. Books just don't sit unread or undeleted on my Kindle.

I wish Amazon didn't disable sampling for free books. I don't care if it's free, I'd rather see if it's worth downloading before doing it. Since I have dial up internet, going to Amazon and my account and deleting things permanently that way takes a while and I'd rather not if I don't have to.

So I don't have a bought but not read category in the sense of the question. I sure have bought some that I didn't get far with and deleted without finishing.


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## Ty Johnston (Jun 19, 2009)

Of late my to-be-read pile (both e-books and physical books) has been running about 200. Of those, probably a hundred or so I've had for more than a year. I average reading about 50 books a year, which isn't exactly slow but it's also not overly speedy. I plan to get to all of my books eventually, but who knows how long it will take since by the time I finish most books I've added at least 2 or 3 more to the to-be-read pile.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

D.A. said:


> Okay, how many books (just an average) do you buy a year that unintentionally never rise to the top of your pile and that wind up in the bought-but-not-read category?


If I buy a book I almost never fail to read it. In fact, if I paid a lot I usually sit down and read it immediately, because those are the books I'm invested in. If I grab a book free... Let's put it this way. I have around 50 free reads on my Kindle now and have read something like 2 of them. That doesn't mean I won't get to the others sometime in the next year or two but it does mean they have what you might call stickiness at the bottom of my TBR pile. They get pushed lower every time I buy a new book because books I pay for always come first. They're the books I want now, whereas the others are books I might want someday, when I'm feeling broke.


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## crebel (Jan 15, 2009)

Dara England said:


> If I buy a book I almost never fail to read it. In fact, if I paid a lot I usually sit down and read it immediately, because those are the books I'm invested in. If I grab a book free... Let's put it this way. I have around 50 free reads on my Kindle now and have read something like 2 of them. That doesn't mean I won't get to the others sometime in the next year or two but it does mean they have what you might call stickiness at the bottom of my TBR pile. They get pushed lower every time I buy a new book because books I pay for always come first. They're the books I want now, whereas the others are books I might want someday, when I'm feeling broke.


I've heard others say the same thing about free books staying on the bottom of the pile. Do you just remember which downloads were free? Do you keep track of them separately? Are they in a folder marked "free"? If you (not necessarily you, Dara, but anyone who separates their free reads) do separate them or keep track, may I ask why? I don't think of them as less important reads. There was apparently something that intrigued me enough about the book to download and want to read it in the first place, so it will always work its way to the top of the TBR pile.

I couldn't tell you which books I've purchased and which I've downloaded for free unless I went back to MYK and looked. I just read them from oldest download to newest download.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

i keep a collection for "short list for next reads" for the most important TBR books, the rest go in the B list


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## DidEverythingButThink (Jun 25, 2012)

This happens to maybe 3 or 4 of the hundreds of books I read. I am very money conscious. Spending money on something and not using it violates the rules of my conscience.


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

crebel said:


> I've heard others say the same thing about free books staying on the bottom of the pile. Do you just remember which downloads were free? Do you keep track of them separately? Are they in a folder marked "free"? If you (not necessarily you, Dara, but anyone who separates their free reads) do separate them or keep track, may I ask why? I don't think of them as less important reads. There was apparently something that intrigued me enough about the book to download and want to read it in the first place, so it will always work its way to the top of the TBR pile.
> 
> I couldn't tell you which books I've purchased and which I've downloaded for free unless I went back to MYK and looked. I just read them from oldest download to newest download.


I have a pretty good memory for this stuff so I tend to just remember which ones were free. Sometimes I forget which are freebies and which are cheapies but I also keep track of everything on Goodreads so I have "kindle freebie" and "kindle bargain" shelves I occasionally browse which keeps my memory fresh.


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