YA LGBT Books discussion
Book Related Banter
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$ Where do you get your YA books and does cost matter? $
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For me, I do a mix. I go to the library (I adore the library and we have a good local YA LGBT collection.) I also buy paper (like "Two Boys Kissing") in local stores; sometimes I donate those afterward. If I buy online, I buy ebook.To me, cost is less of a factor than my time. I'd rather spend $8 for a book I like than $1 for something mediocre. Having said that, for me to spend over $10, it has to be an author I know and love. New authors need to be either in the library, or under that threshold. But I try to rate the same regardless of cost, unless it was free. Freebies do get a rating break from me, especially for being a little less well edited. (Paying a good editor can run hundreds of dollars, which is tough to spend for a book that will be free - I cut them a little slack.)
I stopped reading around twenty five years old and didn't start until about five years ago (25 year hiatus). After lugging a couple thousand books around from place to place when I restarted I went ebook all the way.I borrow some from the library but I'm a collector at heart (partner says pack rat) so If I like the book I want to "own" it anyway.
I usually try to purchase through the publishers sites rather than Amazon, Kobo, B&N, etc. I have talked to a few authors and they usually get a bigger percentage of the sale from the non-traditional sites like Dreamspinner, All Romance, Smashwords, etc.
However, if the discount is substantial I will opt for one of the mainstream sources.
The one thing I will not do is buy a book that is only available in pdf. I hate reading at my computer and pdf's do not play well with my Kindle Paperwhite (which I love).
I'm still old school when it comes to reading. I not only have to have a hard copy of it, but I must own anything I read. So I buy everything from Amazon. Can't find gay novels anywhere in this town anyway. But as a young adult author myself, I can write off on my taxes any young adult books I buy as market research.
I don't read ebooks. Paper copies, either from library or else I will buy secondhand somewhere. Or if I really want the book, then I will go to the local indie bookstore, no big chains!
Do you buy new? Borrow from a library? Buy second hand? Freebies only?I tend to buy books - whether new or second hand. Though of course, I am quite happy to pick up freebies whereever I can. Borrowing from the library is problematic for me as our library is in the centre of time, with really bad access for the hard of walking.... I try to buy e-books direct from the publisher where I can, but Amazon is dangerous place with their one click option and 24 hours delivery.
Paper? e-book? Both? both - and a great deal depends on the genre. I collect Girls Own books from the early 20th century - some of which I have been lucky enough to pick up from Project Gutenberg which is a fantastic resource. They also have a lot of classics as well as some less well known stuff. But I have also bought a lot of hardback and paperback books - including some first editions and rare titles. And yes, I have paid rather more than the average book price for them - but it's a hobby and investment.
I read e-books primarily - but will also buy paperback copies of favourites, I also buy paperback books (and sometimes hardbacks) of series that I started buying long before I owned an e-reader (or in fact some which I started collecting before e-readers existed)
Do you read on a computer? E-reader? Phone?
E-reader mainly - and kindle at that - there is very little else available in the UK as Amazon really did corner the market completely. I will also read on my computer - usually PDF files but also some things I read online. I don't read on my phone - it's too small and the batteries don't last long enough
If you buy paper, do you order online or go to a bookstore? I will buy books from local book stores, sometimes online (whether from publishers, amazon or e-bay) I also like to browse charity shops and second hand book shops - i love the smell of second hand book shops!
And if you buy, does price make a big difference? Is there a price where it has to be your favorite author to splurge? Does paying more for a book make you rate it more demandingly?
I have a book budget. Each month I set aside a particular amount to spend on books. This means some months I will be a couple of paperbacks rather than half a dozen e-books. Paperbacks from smaller American publishers cost a fortune over here - I can get an e-book for £4.50 ish but the paperback will usually be around £15.00. I have been known to save up and splurge, buying direct from the publisher when they have a sale on and the discount I then get covers the cost of posting - which works out cheaper than buying via Amazon (even our biggest chain bookstores have a stupidly limited variety of books when it comes to LGBTQ fiction - be it adult or YA)
Nope, price has little to do with my ratings - I've read some fantastic freebies, and paid a fortune for utter rubbish.... but that can easily be turned on its head. That said, my ratings/reviews are totally personal to me in any event
Do you buy new? Borrow from a library? Buy second hand? Freebies only?- I buy new, read freebies. I rarely go to the library.
Paper? e-book? Both?
- I read mainly ebook.
Do you read on a computer? E-reader? Phone?
- ereader
If you buy paper, do you order online or go to a bookstore?
-bookstore unless it's not available
And if you buy, does price make a big difference? Is there a price where it has to be your favorite author to splurge? Does paying more for a book make you rate it more demandingly?
-Price does matter. I'm more likely to pay more if it's an author I really like and have been looking forward to the book. Paying more means I expect a longer book. I have a very hard time $8.99 or more for an ebook unless it's a must have for me.
Nah, the book price doesn't influence my rating, with that said, if I paid a lot and it's really short, that annoys me. That might influence my rating .
Do you buy new? Borrow from a library? Buy second hand? Freebies only?I love buying books so I buy a lot of them, I almost never buy second hand mostly because I can't find any I like. Freebies I read of course :)
Paper? e-book? Both? Both, but mostly ebooks. I buy my favorites as paperbacks. I collect classics, mostly Shakespeare and the German authors Goethe and Schiller. Those I buy as hardbacks and try to get rare and first editions.
Do you read on a computer? E-reader? Phone? E-reader (kindle) and laptop. I read when Sir drives me to work so it's kindle mostly.
If you buy paper, do you order online or go to a bookstore? Depends on what I want, even the bigger bookstores around here offer only a limited range of LGBTQ books, so I mostly tend to buy online. I try to avoid amazon and buy directly from the publishers. I love browsing in bookstores for old books though...
And if you buy, does price make a big difference? Is there a price where it has to be your favorite author to splurge? Does paying more for a book make you rate it more demandingly? I get a rather generous book allowance from Sir every month, so price is not really an issue. If I want a book I normally buy it but if an ebook by a new author for me costs more than USD 8 then I might reconsider. I have some authors that are auto buy for me their books I buy anyway. Price doesn't influence my rating.
Hi Kat :D Do you ever have trouble getting titles that you see for sale to the US market? I've heard some people overseas saying that there are ebooks in the US they may not be able to order.
Hi Kaje :) So far I haven't had any problems with buying ebooks directly form US publishers. Perhaps it depends on from which publisher you buy? Paperbacks weren't a problem either, posting costs a bit of course and they take forever to arrive...
Yeah, I've mailed books to Europe and other parts of the world, and sometimes the mailing cost more than the book... One advantage to ebooks, definitely.
Do you buy new? Borrow from a library? Buy second hand? Freebies only?My library is terrible, so nope. But I did a bit at my uni's library but I'm nowhere near it now. I always try to buy second hand first. But, if it's a book I know and love, I might splurge and buy a fancy hardback!
Paper? e-book? Both?
Paper. I used to have a kindle but never used it so gave it away to a relative and I don't miss it.
Do you read on a computer? E-reader? Phone?
Only if it's fanfiction do I read on a PC. I already spend most of my time on here, don't want to start giving myself headaches!
If you buy paper, do you order online or go to a bookstore?
Both. Order online if I've been searching in second-hand stores for a while and I'm getting annoyed. Or if I'm being impatient and want it soon.
And if you buy, does price make a big difference? Is there a price where it has to be your favorite author to splurge? Does paying more for a book make you rate it more demandingly?
I'm quite stingy, so I'm a bit stubborn when it comes to budget, even if it is books or food (both things I'm most likely to splurge on ;)). Again, if I was to pay a lot, it'd have to be fancy and pretty and be a story I already know I love. I ain't a big risk taker!
I'm kinda poor, so I usually only get books for things like birthday or Christmas. If I have a little extra money though I love perusing through the two second hand shops in town. Neither have a very big YA section, but sometimes I find some gems there (like I got a couple Ellen Hopkins books cheap the other day), but mostly I go to the library. They have a pretty nice YA section, not so much LGBT stuff, but have found some! I have a kindle as well. I don't mind ebooks and it's nice for travel so I don't have to pack my entire book shelf. :P But I haven't bought anything for kindle in a while because like real books, kindle cards are something I only get for special occasions.
I love libraries! And some are now developing ebook lending programs too, which hopefully will open up the variety of books they offer, since ebooks don't need physical space to store them.There is a certain amount of free YA online (like at Smashwords or OmniLit) that can be downloaded for Kindle too. Of course a lot of free stuff is worth what you pay for it, so reading samples is a good idea.
I am very cheap *coughstillastudentcough*. With physical copies, I either borrow from the library, or buy second hand. With ebooks, I tend to watch and take advantage of Amazon deals, or a family member's Amazon Prime(free ebook rentals!). For digital reading, I use my hand-me-down Kindle. The battery icon is stuck at zero percent, which can be stressful, but otherwise it works fine.
I generally wait for books to get cheaper, but if there's a series I'm really into, I'll go ahead and buy it. That's a rare occurrence though, and when the book ends up being less than stellar, I'll admit to feeling my wallet/heart (same thing, really) hurt, but I try be stoic about it while rating.
Kaje wrote: "Have you found much YA on Amazon Prime?"A fair amount actually, but they are rental ebooks, you can only "borrow" one at a time, and they hold off on adding current or popular books, if they ever do. There's also really no LGBTQ stuff. I think they have a free trial if you're curious, but if I weren't shamelessly piggybacking, I wouldn't say it's worth the (now) hundred bucks a year. But, if you aren't bearing the full brunt of the bill, are nowhere near a good library, and you don't mind wading through the lower quality stuff, or reading for the sake of it, it's not bad.
P.S. You can also type in the search bar of the Kindle store "prime eligible" plus whatever other qualifier you want, (so "prime eligible young adult") and that should turn up a good idea of the selection.
I have a great library system here - lots of LGBT YA, so I'm no doubt better off with that.For authors, signing your book up for Prime is a debate - you get a "royalty" payment when the book loans, but it's significantly less than a sale. So it's a question of whether you're garnering new readers, or cannibalizing your own sales. That may be why the selection isn't great at the moment for niche books, where the expectation might be that people who really want it will buy if it's not on lending.
Y'know, I hadn't considered the author's side of the business, but that's a pretty interesting dilemma. Obviously there's an argument to both sides, but with so many other resources available to draw in new readers and ebooks being fairly cheap, it doesn't strike me as really worth it. But I know nothing of the life of an author. ;)
I also utilize my local library. It is an invaluable resource! I would buy a copy of every book I ever wanted to read if I had the funds, so yeah, money is a big factor for me. When I love a book, want to share it with family members, or can't find it at the library I check out Amazon or eBay, but I hate to spend more than $5 at a time. I get a lot of gift cards for Christmas! I love trolling in bookstores, but hardly ever buy there at full price.
I read both paper and e-books. I live in the conservative south, so the local libraries don't carry a lot of LGBT books, for teens or adults. I do find some LGBT books in the library, however, and I use that option since I have a set amount that I spend on books every month. Because of space limitations, I only buy paper copies of books that I know I will read again or that I will pass around to family and friends. That's what I love about e-books; they don't clutter up my bookcases! Sadly, I know some guys who are afraid to be seen reading LGBT books, and they are only comfortable with e-readers.
It is another benefit of e-readers, though. That people who would be worried about reading certain books in public can do so anonymously that way. Or on their phones (although I can't read on that size screen.) I've had people say their reading world opened up when they could do that, and not worry about their parents or extended family seeing the book lying around.
That's why 50 Shades of Grey was so popular-- because ereaders made the book so anonymous! I don't think the book would have ever gotten so popular if it were published 10 years ago. I still like the physical weight of a book in my hands, but you have to admit ereaders do make books (and subject matter) so much more accessible!!!
Yes, there's something about a physical book that's more satisfying. But e-readers have made LGBT books more accessible, especially to teens and adults in unsupportive environments who otherwise might never read them.
Kaje wrote: "It is another benefit of e-readers, though. That people who would be worried about reading certain books in public can do so anonymously that way. Or on their phones (although I can't read on that ..."Agree wholeheartedly. I have seen this phenomenon with the readers of my novel--the option to read LGBT books on e-devices makes it so much easier on people who are not out or are simply more comfortable keeping their reading to themselves.
One of the heartbreaking things I've come across as an author has been the number of teen readers who message me to say they can't buy my novel either way (paperback or electronic) because their bank account is linked to their parents and they're not out yet. Often these girls tell me they read the first 3 chapters of my book (from the free preview I posted online), but they can't read the rest. I suspect this is a problem unique to our genre, for both readers and authors.
Kelly wrote: "One of the heartbreaking things I've come across as an author has been the number of teen readers who message me to say they can't buy my novel either way (paperback or electronic) because their bank account is linked to their parents and they're not out yet. Often these girls tell me they read the first 3 chapters of my book (from the free preview I posted online), but they can't read the rest. I suspect this is a problem unique to our genre, for both readers and authors. ..."This is one of the reasons we link freebies when we find them, like The Ravens Crossing, and I put a lot of free short stories up on the group, and my collection is free as well. We need teens to be able to find and read this stuff, and it's hard to do without a credit card. Some libraries are starting to lend more YA LGBT ebooks too, which will help since teens won't have to worry about the book lying around the house. There is a small amount of free YA on places like Smashwords or even Amazon, that can be read online or downloaded, although self-pub there is a pretty mixed bag (and there is a lot of adult stuff not suitable for YA.) There are other free online stories like Pretty Shade of Grey but it can be hard for teens to find.
It's no doubt the biggest issue for our genre, although there are teens in religious households forbidden to read Harry Potter, and so on, so it's not unique to LGBT teens. It is most risky and difficult for them. Because being found out is not just about the book. (I put a link in What's On Your Mind about more teens getting rejected by families as they come out younger. It's a double edged sword.)
Kaje wrote: "Kelly wrote: "One of the heartbreaking things I've come across as an author has been the number of teen readers who message me to say they can't buy my novel either way (paperback or electronic) be..."I think this is one of the reasons slash and femslash fan fiction has flourished so much, too--because it's accessible AND free, and if you know where to look, you can find really well-written stories.
I always gift a free copy to these teens when they reach out to me. I've also met some amazing adult readers who have offered to buy copies for these younger readers. We really have an extraordinary LGBT reading community.
You're right, Kaje--being found out is NOT just about the book. It's so much bigger than that.
So...
Do you buy new? Borrow from a library? Buy second hand? Freebies only?
Paper? e-book? Both?
Do you read on a computer? E-reader? Phone?
If you buy paper, do you order online or go to a bookstore?
And if you buy, does price make a big difference? Is there a price where it has to be your favorite author to splurge? Does paying more for a book make you rate it more demandingly?
I'm curious (and it's potentially relevant to Book of the Month selection - if a book is only in ebook, does that cut a lot of readers off from it?)