I remember when I first started to do digital scrapbooking. I picked up every free kit that was offered. Some were high quality and I made use of them, some were good quality but they didn't really reflect my personality or the pictures I had to work with so I never used them, and some were just low quality and frankly just junk. After about six months I discovered what style kits matched my style and while I still downloaded freebies from time to time I do it much more rarely and I don't make a purchase unless I have a specific use for it.
So when I got my first Nook I was a freebie hound. I signed up for every blog/group I could find. I entered every contest, etc. By the time I moved to my Nook Touch I slowed down a bit but I was still downloading a lot of freebies.
At the beginning of the year I got my third Nook the Nook Tablet and as I was re-shelving my book yet again and really looking at all the books on my Good Reads To Be Read shelf I realized I had a huge backlog. So I've noticed that I have now become way more picking about picking up those freebies or entering those contests. It really came home to me this week when All Romance started their book a day give away for Earth Day. So far I've only picked up 3 of the books offered and 1 I had already read before so I didn't need that one. I'm also more likely to enter a contest where the winner has either a choice of books or the prize is a gift certificate to allow you to choose what you really want.
I don't regret all the freebies I picked up in the past because I discovered writers and genre's I might not have tried out otherwise but I've also noticed that about half the freebies I picked up I've had to force myself to finish reading. They might be well written but they just don't click with me for whatever reason. And I'm still picking up a freebie here and there but I've gotten better at knowing what I find entertaining and with such a backlog of books with new ones coming out everyday that I really want to read I think I'll pick up less freebies for now and go ahead and spend money on something I know I'll enjoy reading. When I want to explore my comfort levels or different genre's I can do that some of the different challenges at Good Reads or by taking the recommendation of a review by someone who's opinion I appreciate.
But I'll still be trying to get through the freebies I already have even if they don't really seem that great to me because we all have our own OCD issues and apparently that is one of mine.
