Friday Feature: Sunday Sampling

 I love e-book samples. In fact, I rarely buy a book without reading the sample first.

Consequently, I have quite a pile-up of these nuggets of reading in my Kindle library -- so much so that I've established Sundays as "Sample Sunday," setting aside time to explore some of the samples to decide what to buy and what to delete.

If you thought the pile-up of potential reads on my shelves and Audible app was bad, hang on to your hats. 

Number of (full) books in progress (more than 10% complete) on my Kindle: 14

Number of those I'm serious about finishing: 6

Number of samples on my Kindle: I stopped counting at 20

What captured my interest in last Sunday's sampling: Nothing. Of the handful of books I started (all non-fiction, if that matters) none persuaded me to keep going, in part because I'm really enjoying the books that have already made the cut. 

What I actually purchased: Nothing. Not surprising, considering my response above.

How many books/samples I deleted: None. This one did leave me scratching my head. If nothing "grabbed" me, why didn't I remove the ho-hum samples from my library? I suspect it was the lateness of the hour, which persuaded me to give them one more chance. 

Although I love my book samples, they definitely contribute to my need to set a goal of finishing what I start. Unfortunately, when they can be downloaded in an instant, it's easy to let them pile up and take up more than their fair share of space in my digital library. Here's hoping that my Sunday sampling will help me streamline my digital library, reducing my to-be-read pile to something more realistic.

Or, perhaps I need to return to a brick-and-mortar store, where books that don't pass the sample test don't make it to the checkout counter in the first place. Or make a trip to my local library, where both the sampling and the books are free. 

Are you a digital sampler? Or do you still prefer to hold an actual book in your hand, whether you're just checking it out or planning to commit?