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Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Browsing Self-help Books Online

I find recommendations for a lot of books at different groups that I visit. One group in particular recommends a lot of self-help books. Before even checking the library, I pop over to Amazon to see if they have the book. I then, browse the book through the little "look inside" feature. Not every book has this, but many do. If you click on the "Look inside" the page will bring up a good chunk of the book. Sometimes, you have to hover over the upper right corner, just above the book, for the "Look inside" to appear.

Obviously, they don't show you all or even most of the book. But much of it is available this way. And depending on if you're visit Amazon.com, or Amazon.ca, or Amazon.co.uk, different amounts of the book may be available, depending on the book. I sometimes read the excerpt to a book on another's country's Amazon site.

Clearly, this sneak peak is designed for shoppers to see if they want to purchase the book. I use it to see if I want to check the book out from the library. And then, perhaps I may want to own a specific book. Most of the time, though, with self-help books, I can get the gist of the information, enough for my tastes, in just the sneak peak. It's just another frugal indulgence of mine.

I mentioned the sneak peak feature to a friend who had ordered a book from Amazon, recently, and this friend was very surprised that this even existed. So, I'm sharing, in case you don't know this either.

8 comments:

  1. I use that feature also, but since I work in a library, I get to handle a lot of books and scan them before I check them out. However, I have to be careful to not spend too much time looking at a book when I should be working. One of the dangers of working in a library.

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    Replies
    1. Hi live and learn,
      Yes, that sounds like an occupational hazard. You should receive "hazard pay" for such a dangerous situation they put you in! Ha ha.

      Seriously, that would be such a temptation. But they really can't fault you too much if you do thumb through the books. You're better able to give recommendations to others if you've looked at the books, right?
      Have a great day, live and learn!

      Delete
    2. I'd be similarly tempted if I worked in a bakery ... haha!

      Delete
    3. Yeah, profits might plummet if I worked in a bakery or chocolate shop!

      Delete
  2. I can see where L&L would be tempted to read while working. :)

    I have used the same feature and I like it. I also like to browse some of the comments--obviously I won't agree with all of them, but common themes in comments are helpful to me. The other nice thing about the "look inside" feature is that you can get a feel for the font size, the picture layout, and the author's style of writing.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      oh great points on seeing if the pages appear readable with font size, and layout. I read comments sections, too. They can give you a good feel for the rest of the book's contents.
      Have a great day, Kris!

      Delete
  3. Hi, Ladies--

    We've used the "look inside", too, and do read the comments, as well. You can also find comments about older/more famous books at places like Good Reads. DS and I get a kick out of the variety of responses to any given book, but we've found that a lot of times, you can get an idea of who you might have similar tastes with based on how they word their commendations and criticisms.

    And Lili, I just got back from grocery shopping, and speaking of indulgences, one of my favorite foods was on a super-sale. So, I bought 3 packages of organic medjool dates on close-out for what I'd normally have to pay for one conventionally-grown package. Whoo-hoo!

    Have a great week, everybody! Sara :)

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  4. I've used this feature before, too. Great option! Sometimes I feel so much of what I want to read is not "mainstream" so it's hard to locate books that I do want to read, even through interlibrary loan, which I use extensively. Former librarian here as well--the beauty of that was that I learned even more about how to utilize library services. And the staff are super nice to me because so many know me--never a bad thing to have the library staff in your corner when you're a bookworm!

    ReplyDelete

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