my name is kat and i have an ebook problem

welcome back to honest to blog (working title), a hopefully-weekly newsletter with thoughts about writing, movies, music, science fiction and fantasy stories, and general creative process blah.

quarantine is shaping up to be the perfect time to do all those things you’ve been meaning to, “when [you] have more time”: deep clean the house; mari-kondo your belongings; start that podcast; go back to making youtube videos; pick up crochet/knitting/other crafts; binge your entire netflix list; bash out that novel; read all those books piling up on your shelf, whether physical or digital.

i’ve stopped buying physical books, actually, except for the occasional hardback at events/cons. i live in a small flat with two other people, and out of the three of us i have the smallest room, and thus the least amount of storage space. i did buy a new bookcase a couple of years ago, but it got pretty full of my existing collection of research books (a topic for another newsletter, perhaps), and i’m not about to push my luck.

so, i made the switch to kindle books about three years ago. i bought an actual kindle device, the kind that doesn’t even have a backlit screen, to minimise eye strain and make the reading experience as analog as possible. it has no 3g connection, no notifications, no fancy anything (apart from my super cute vincent van gogh painting cover. that’s fancy.) i like that i can change the font and its size, and no matter how big the book i’m reading is, i’m never carrying or holding more than 190 grams. plus, i can leave notes and highlights, as well as bookmarks, which i find super useful for research.

early on, i was made aware of kindle deals; they have both daily and monthly ones, which means that prices on ebooks can drop pretty swiftly down to 99p for a limited time. there is even a handy dandy website/free newsletter that can alert you to ebook deals on your favourite genres and authors, bookbub, which is absolutely brilliant.

plus, i developed a system: i made a kindle books wishlist, and made that my default. whenever i browse kindle books and find one i want to read, if it’s too expensive for me i’ll pop it on my wishlist, and periodically (… sometimes daily, let’s be real) check the wishlist sorted by lowest price. thus even if a new deal isn’t listed on bookbub, i have a direct way of checking if books i actually want to buy have dropped in price.

i tweeted about this a couple of weeks ago, when i opened up my kindle app and curiously checked to see just how many ebooks i’ve amassed over the last 2-3 years. the answer, hoo boy—

(actually, there’s been some sales since that tweet went out, so make that 638 books at last count. what can i say except… oops?)

in my absolute defense:

so, you know, in all likelihood i’ve spent less than £600 on ebooks over the last few years… but i wouldn’t be surprised if the total was higher rather than lower.

“but kat,” i hear you ask, “how in the world did you collect so many? what kinds of books do you even buy?”

ha! i say in reply. one does not simply ask that question and expect a simple answer. i am a writer, after all, and so obviously have to have all of the—

now, have i read most of these? no. do i intend to? absolutely. will i? doubtful. i’ve created a field of decision paralysis (where i scroll through my collection and can’t seem to choose which book to read, much like when endlessly scrolling through the netflix catalogue), which i highkey hate, and even if i spend my entire day reading (which i won’t, because there’s also writing, and watching things, and cooking, and cleaning, and going on one government-allotted walk a day, and zoom calls with pals), i’ll never get through all 638 of my current ebooks.

but i’ll keep buying more anyway. let’s face it. after all, there’s no physical clutter, and when it’s only 99p… what’s the harm?

tell me about your odd addictions, if you have them. is it something harmless, like anime figurines, or something deadly, like snakes? (do any of my readers collect snakes?! make yourselves known please.) i’d love to know.

oh and if you have any book recs, throw them at me, i guess?? chances are i already own it if it’s a novel, and any help in whittling down my immense TBR will be greatly appreciated.

and for something a little bit different, may i suggest an absolutely FANTASTIC webcomic, set in an underground ocean on mars, which i adore and recommend wholeheartedly: mare internum. you can read it in its entirety as it recently wrapped up, but when i was reading it was still updating so you can imagine the agony of waiting for the next page! it’s got lgbt representation, spectacular worldbuilding, earnest and flawed characters, and a thrip!! (you’ll need to read it to find out what that last thing is.)

that’s it from me this week. as always, feel free to share your responses to anything above by twitter, email, or drone (or even a reply to this email).

and if you ever feel like tossing a coin my way to help offset my meager furlough money, you can do so by buying me a coffee.

stay safe and speak soon,

xK