Book Blogger Hop: Do you read along with your Audio books?

Do you read along with your Audiobooks?

Erm, no.

What would be the actual point of that?
Surely, the purpose of an audiobook is to free you up to do other things while listening?
If so, sitting there reading along with the narrator would most definitely defeat the purpose.
Also, I read a lot faster than a narrator narrates so I'd end up reading ahead and the narrator would be droning on behind and it'd turn into a big annoying mess.

I understand swapping back and forth between the audio and text versions of a book - even though it's not something I've done myself - as it allows a lot of flexibility on how you consume the story but doing both at the same time is a great big fat nope for me.

To be fair though, I'm an audiobook newbie so I could be in the minority on this.

 I only really started properly listening to audiobooks in January as I've always had issues with following the story while listening to it. However, I discovered that I can listen, follow, and enjoy audiobooks when I'm driving. 
On my last couple of audiobooks, I've been so desperate to know what comes next once my commute ends that I've contemplated picking up the paperback when I got into the house (as I own my current reads in both audio and print) but I haven't been able to bring myself to do it.
I've been enjoying the narrator and don't want to mix it up with my own inner reading voice.

Thus, I started to experiment and push myself a little on what I was able to do while still following - and enjoying - an audiobook. So far I've experimented with cooking (a win), ironing (undecided), and colouring (a big win)... Basically, they're things that don't require a lot of brain power but allow me to listen in the house and still feel productive, otherwise I'd be sitting staring at the wall or going to bed super early so I can lie there and listen while staring at the ceiling (not very productive).

I'm beginning to think that listening to audiobooks is a bit of an art form and the more you listen the greater your capacity for multitasking becomes... But I'll still never use that capacity for listening while reading unless my brain is able to listen to one book while reading a completely different one!

Book Blogger Hop: Do you use NetGalley, Edelweiss, both, or neither?

Do you use NetGalley, Edelweiss, both, or neither?

I'm signed up for both NetGalley and Edelweiss but I typically just use NetGalley.

To be honest, I don't think I understand Edelweiss, it's all very messy, busy and unintuitive.
I'm rarely declined on NetGalley but on Edelweiss I'm rarely approved!
This is a shame because I think that the selection of books on Edelweiss is often superior to that of NetGalley.

I think there must be some kind of wizardry involved in Edelweiss approvals... Some metaphorical secret handshake to stick in your 'about me' section that lets the publishers know you're in the club and to tick the yes button every time you ask nicely for a book.

I would say if anybody knows what that is to let me in on the secret but, actually, please don't.
I really don't want to fall into the ARC trap pit again. I've been relatively well behaved of late and I still have about a dozen eARCs to wade through.
😆

Book Blogger Hop:Do You Buy All Your Books?

Do you buy all your books? If yes, do you keep it all? If no, where do you source them?

No, I can't say that I buy all of my books.

I do buy a lot of my books but I also take advantage of services like Kindle Unlimited and the library.

With Kindle Unlimited, I pay a set monthly fee (£7.99) and I can borrow anything that is enrolled in the programme. I can borrow/return as many books as I want to as long as I'm subscribed, and the authors get a payment from Amazon linked to page reads.
I wish I could say that I take full advantage of my KU subscription but I'd be better off actually just buying the books at the moment as I don't use it enough to make it economically viable. I've been contemplating canceling KU and instead 'topping up' my gift card balance by £8 a month instead... At least that way I could buy any book that takes my fancy rather than being limited to the Kindle Unlimited enrollees. Plus, I'd actually own the books I'm paying to read. (Well, as much as you can 'own' digital content.)

The Library and I have a distant relationship nowadays. I used to use it a lot but now I typically use it to try a new author, read non-fiction, or to borrow books to read with the little dude.

Being a book blogger, I also get gifted copies of books for review by publishers via NetGalley and, to a lesser extent, Edelweiss.
I also get review copies directly from authors and from their PR agents for blog tours and the like.

With Kindle Unlimited, I don't get to keep the books. Once a book is 'returned' amazon delete it automatically from your devices and with the library, you have to return the books therefore, I do not get to keep them.

With review copies, I do get to keep them and since all my review copies have been digital, I have them until I delete them and I don't think I've ever done that... Even when I have hated the book.

The books I buy, I typically buy on ebook and that means they all come from Amazon.
If I buy physical copies, I tend to shop in Waterstones but I do also scan the books in the supermarket, in charity shops, and in independent book shops when I'm passing and grab one if it catches my eye.
Oddly, I rarely buy physical copies of books from Amazon. I buy so few that it just feels wrong not to have the full experience of mooching around a bookstore and smelling the book smells.

With physical books, I tend to keep the ones I buy from new. As I'm an ebook hoarder,  the only reason I buy a new physical copy is that I want it on my shelf permanently.
With used books, I'll read it and decide: keep or donate. Used books are a really good way of experiencing new authors with minimal investment. If I like the book, I'll hunt out more from the author, probably on my kindle!

With Audiobooks, I buy them. The little dude used to have one a month through an audible subscription but his appetite had increased rapidly so now I also invest in top-up credits to feed the beast.
With the exception of Harry Potter, I don't think we've ever bought audiobooks on disc and we've never used the library. I should probably look into the library but we don't even have a CD player anymore so... Maybe not.

What about you? Where do your books come from?

Book Blogger Hop: From print to e-books? Is either one exclusive?

Have you made the switch from print to e-books? Is either one exclusive?

I was an early ebook adopter. I purchased my first ebook back in... Oh. 2004? I used to read them on my laptop and on the professors little handheld PDA that he'd use to take notes in his uni lectures. It wasn't the most comfortable way of reading, and book choices were pretty limited, but I could see the advantages of them even if I much preferred print.

Fast forward a couple of years and the professor bought me a Sony eReader. It was nice! E-Ink interface and no backlight meant I didn't get eyestrain when reading on one and I loved how I could adjust font size etc. eBook availability had increased significantly and for a student who had to move house fairly frequently (i.e. usually on an annual basis) it was fantastic not having to lug so many boxes of books around with me... And not having to sort which books I'd keep from those I'd surrender on eBay and to charity shops.
However, it was clunky as heck when trying to get books on the thing! I had to buy them on my computer, hook my eReader up to my computer and use the eReader programme installed on the computer to transfer my books. It was a complete faff! And I preferred quick and simple. So, I didn't use it anywhere near as often as I would have because of the awkward interface.
 Print books still ruled for me.

Then, the Christmas of 2010 occurred. The professor, having listened to my complaints with the Sony eReader, bought me a Kindle.
It was a revelation! It was everything I wanted! eInk, non-backlit, a keypad at the bottom so I could easily categorise my books into collections, and - most importantly - all I had to do to buy a book was to go to the Amazon store via the device, select a book, 1-click and poof! Book ready to read!

That marked the end of print for me.
The only time I bought print from then onwards was when I couldn't get the book as an ebook and that was very rare.

That Kindle lasted a couple of years before it died on me. Since then, I've had two others.
My third Kindle being my current Kindle. Each of them has brought a little something extra to the reading experience and nowadays I only buy the print version when I spot a particularly good deal (i.e. a box set at the fraction of the price of the individual ebooks) or when I absolutely adore a cover and want it on my bookshelf to stare at and call it my precious.
I sometimes also buy a print version of an ebook I've read and absolutely adored just so I can have a copy of it on my shelf forever... Y'know, just in case we're plunged into the dark ages and there's no more electricity to run my devices.

Sometimes, I miss print books but mostly I'm glad I no longer have to work out what to do with a book once I've read it and don't have space to keep it. I'm glad I don't have to spend so much time dusting. I'm glad I no longer have to contort like a pretzel to support the weight of a book when reading. Plus, I can now read in bed with the lights off and my super clever device slowly lowers the background lighting on my device to let my eyes adjust to a minimal level so as not to give me eyestrain or 'bright-light' problems.

Although I'm an almost complete convert to ebooks, I don't believe it has to be one or the other. I believe the two can co-exist quite happily and in just using one medium over the other you're probably missing out.

What about you? Ebooks, print, or both?