~J (amsavs) said:

If I may bug you about libby again, is it the same books that your library has available or are there slightly different choices?

I'm really not certain because I haven't been to the library to check that out. However, I would expect that it would be similar. Perhaps the number of books available would be different. I've noticed with books that are very popular the number of copies may increase while I'm waiting. 

I saw on YouTube a "hack" of how to get books faster through Libby. Basically, it's getting library cards from other districts which you can use with Libby. The guy shows two library systems where you can get a card without having to live in the area - Broward County Florida and Las Vegas Clark County Nevada. I haven't tried these because I'm willing to wait because I already have plenty of other books on my Kindle to read while waiting.

YouTube

Add these *FREE* Library Cards to your Libby App & Never Wait for a Book Again! (Libby Hack)

Join me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/dylanjohnsLibby App Tutorial: https://youtu.be/aYALMZOcWNIBroward County Library Card Application: https://...

I know the price of books has gotten to be ridiculous, but then so has everything else, right? There's no way I'm paying that much for a book. I'll wait to find it on sale or get it through Libby. However, there was one book which I really wanted to read. It was "Young Elizabeth - the Making of the Queen" by Kate Williams and it was first published in 2012. I had another book about Queen Elizabeth II that was about her years as the monarch, but I wanted to read the other book about "Young Elizabeth" first. I could never find it at a decent price and with Libby I got the message that my library's number of copies had expired and I couldn't get it unless the library obtained new copies. I went ahead and put it on hold but nothing ever happened. So I found another way to get it using points accumulated in Amazon for purchasing books and also an Amazon gift card I got through Microsoft Rewards.

I think I posted in here before that Amazon is now awarding points when you purchase a book. 5 pts per dollar spent for a Kindle book and 2 pts per dollar on print books. When you get 300 pts you can convert these into $3 to spend on another book. They have bonus offers occasionally. Right now they have - Spend $20 on Kindle books between May 11 and May 17 and earn 400 bonus points. They also will have a day - maybe once a month - where you get double points for the books you buy. This is great but you're still having to spend money to get the points.

Kindle Rewards Beta (amazon.com)

So now how to get the Amazon gift card without spending any money ... you just have to spend a few minutes every day. Well not every day, but it works better and faster if you do it every day. 

Microsoft Rewards (bing.com)

You can earn points just by using Bing and playing a daily quiz and clicking on sites they have each day.  There are several different ways you can redeem those points, but I was only interested in the one for the Amazon gift card. With 13,000 points I can get a $10 Amazon gift card. I know that sounds like a lot of points, but I usually can accumulate at least 200 points each day. Other days may be a little less - depending how much I searched using Bing - and some days may be more. Every 10 consecutive days I get an additional 150 points. Of course you have to build up to the 150 points, but it's easy to do, I've got a reminder set up on my laptop for noon to go to that site so that I don't forget to do it. As long as I do this each day, I can accumulate the 13,000 points every two months. Hey! I'm willing to spend 5-10 minutes each day at that site if it means I get a $10 gift card every other month. 

So to get that book I wanted, I got my $10 gift card from Windows/Rewards and then converted the points I had accumulated in Kindle Rewards (300) for $3 ... and I only had to actually pay $1.99 for the book which at the time was $14.99. And by the way, even though I only paid $1.99 for the book, I got the full 5 x $14.99 in Kindle Rewards points - 75 points. But because I did it on a 2x day I got 150 points.

Another thing, have you tried BookBub.com? They have a Wishlist where you enter books you're looking for. They will send you an email if the books is marked down. I don't know if this works for paperbacks as I only use Kindle for reading. This helps me quite a bit.

Most other libraries I've seen like to charge if you don't live in the specific area, but I've only checked other cities in my state as well as the one next to us. 

I'm always on sites like Thriftbooks waiting for used books at a decent price. I think we're just down to one used bookstore here. (Besides thrift stores.) I started following a bunch that are a couple of hours away. 

MS rewards kinda sounds like mypoints. But maybe slightly easier to earn points without spending money. I'll have to check it out. 

I haven't tried bookbub. More research!

As for libby, maybe I'll just download and see. I was hoping to avoid that but oh well. Maybe I'll try it on the old device. 

Thanks for the info!

Wow ... It's been a while since I was in here and posted an update about what I've been reading.

So, it's almost the end of June ... nearly halfway through the year. I've read 43 books so far this year. Nine of those have been non-fiction. Twenty of those books have come through Libby. 

Currently I'm reading the non-fiction The Palace Papers by Tina Brown. This makes 4 of the last 5 books have come through Libby. I had another one come available yesterday - it was supposed to be 7 weeks before it was available - but I let it go to the next person. It should be available again for me in two weeks. I really like using it but there are some books which just aren't available through my library. So I've had to buy a few but not nearly as many as what I was buying.

Thanks for the update!  I really enjoy getting book recommendations. 

I recently joined Libby and have read 13 out of the 17 cozy mystery series by Diane Mott-Davidson  which was recommended here.  She is a caterer who solves mysteries and shares some of her amazing recipes.  Very light, enjoyable and I don't want them to end!

For something different, I have read American Dirt (Jeanine Cummins), and Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn) both which I devoured and highly recommend.  

I started about a dozen books I just couldn't continue, so I really value any of your recommendations!

Libby is an extensive, free resource even though, sometimes, you have to wait.  I will gladly wait then pay $25 for a paperback in the next series I would like to read.

Annikabelle {Ben} (Annikabelle) said:

I will gladly wait then pay $25 for a paperback in the next series I would like to read.

Same here. I wasn't paying anywhere near that amount because BookBub.com makes me aware of when a book I want is on sale. But still, if I can get it through the library I'll wait.

I just checked my library for the first book in the series you mentioned by Diane Mott-Davidson and they only have the audiobook. I'm just not into audiobooks. I still like to read the book even if it is on my Kindle.

Gone Girl - I read that one years ago shortly after the movie came out. I remember when I got to the end it just didn't make any sense to me. When I told a friend that, she said she had heard that Gone GIrl  was one of the few books where it was better to see the movie before reading the book. So I watched the move - I must have had HBO or something like that with my cable package. Then I went back and read the book again and that time it made sense. Crazy!!

I didn't make any recommendations earlier, but I will now because there have been a few books that I really, really liked.

The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell - by Robert Dugoni. I've been reading Dugoni's series about the Seattle homicide copy Tracey Crosswhite and like those. But he also has some really good standalone novels. This one was really good.

A Man Called Ove - by Fredrik Backman. When I heard that Tom Hanks was going to be in the movie based on this book, I knew I had to read it. In case you're wondering, they Americanized the title of the movie and it was called A Man Called Otto.  No mystery here, but a book that was just very enjoyable to read. Just one of those "feel good" books that makes you smile. It was just a little over 300 pages and I finished it in two sittings. Oh, I guess I should warn you because I noticed some people who didn't like this about the book and were outraged that they hadn't been warned. When the book starts off the character Ove - an older gentleman who has recently lost his wife and has no children and also been let go (due to his age) by the company where he worked - is trying to commit suicide. Just a warning.

If you liked the Hunger Games series of books, Suzanne Collins has a "new" one titled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. It's supposed to be a prequel to the Hunger Games and is more about the younger (18 years old) Coriolanus Snow. Not as good as the Hunger Games series, but a little over 300 pages and I finished it in two sittings.

A Gentleman in Moscow - by Amor Towles. I believe someone in here recommended this author. I tried this book and liked it. Again, not a mystery but a good story which I enjoyed. I also read The LIncoln Highway by this author. In my opinion, A Gentleman in Moscow was much better. Of course, completely different storylines and maybe I just preferred the Gentleman storyline better.

My main recommendation is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I think maybe someone in here recommended it but I'm not sure. I know I caught it on sale a couple years ago but hadn't gotten around to reading it. One reason is that it's over 600 pages. But it was definitely worth it. I really, really enjoyed that book. Again, not a mystery which is what I gravitate toward, but this book was really good. So much, that I'm now watching for other books to read by Irving.

That's it for now! 

Thank you so much for the recommendations!!

The first in the Diane Mott-Davidson series in my Libby wasn't available, period.  It didn't really matter as they are all stand-alone books which tie in to her personal history.

I have been looking for the Gone Girl movie unsuccessfully at the moment but I'll keep looking :)

I have read some John Irving books, which I have enjoyed, so thanks for the suggestion along with your others.  Much appreciated!

Annikabelle {Ben} (Annikabelle) said:

The first in the Diane Mott-Davidson series in my Libby wasn't available, period.  It didn't really matter as they are all stand-alone books which tie in to her personal history.

That's good to know. Thanks.

Apparently the first book by Diane Mott Davidson isn't available at all at my library either. Why do they do that?!

I've been kind of annoyed with the kindle challenge this time. When they offer those "mystery" achievements 9 times out of 10 they seem to have a very short list attached. The book to screen one was tough. Most of the offerings seemed to be comics. I unfortunately tried the series by Charlaine Harris. And for some reason the kindle list only had two specific titles. Mid series & late series. Those books.... are not good. I never watched True Blood either.

The other one was based on "booktok". Which I don't even pay attention to tiktok. Most of the decent offerings on that list, I've already read. I picked a YA book. I went to add it on goodreads. I apparently read it two years ago! I have no memory of it and it didn't even sound familiar!!

I haven't gotten back to the second Temperance Brennan book yet. That might be next since I jumped through all the kindle challenge hoops.

I'm leaning towards canceling my kindle unlimited subscription due to the increase.

Since I read using my Kindle, I'm not aware of the challenges because they only appear with the phone app. However, I have the app on my phone just in case I'm out and don't have my Kindle.  I just looked at the achievements and I've completed 12 of 15 for Spring.

The three I haven't completed are: Escapist, Page to Screen, and #Booktok.

In #Booktok, one of the books is Verity. I have that one on my hold list with LIbby and it should be available in a few weeks, but too late for this challenge.

In Page to Screen, they have The Hunt for Red October. I have that one but haven't read it. Since today's the last day for the challenge it just won't happen. There were several in this list that I've already read - most years ago - Gone Girl; The Fault in Our Stars; A Wrinkle in Time; Flowers in the Attic ... just to name a few.

In Escapist, I didn't see anything that interested me.

I don't have a subscription to Kindle Unlimited. But I have noticed that recently - past 6 months or so - more of the books I'm interested in are there. But I haven't decided yet that I need a subscription. I'll just keep watching for the books in Libby.

Mine's technically complete but it's not counting the perfect month achievement again. I don't know why I care so much, it's just for "fun".

I was looking around at some of the library fees for non-residents, it's wild. There's one that let's you pay per month at $10, no discount for a year though, all the way to $200/yr in FL! I was trying to narrow my search to ones that also have freegal. Our library used to have but discontinued due to lack of use. I'm sure most didn't even know about it. I think I accidentally found it. Sure the music is limited but occasionally it's worth it. 

One of the libraries I was thinking about also does not have the first book for Diane Mott Davidson. Maybe it's a publisher thing? I guess if I want to read it I'll need to find a cheap used book. It's becoming one of those things, I can't find it, so now I must read it. (I'm not into audio books.) 

I'm still waiting for price drops or at least a used book to pop up for a couple of authors. I guess it'll be awhile. Probably a good time to reread both series.