Tsundoku no more--reading the books on my TBR list

One of my best friends gave me a Kindle for Christmas ten years ago. She knew I loved reading and buying books and she also knew I was struggling financially as a freelancer in Los Angeles. That was when I discovered the "free books" newsletters and it made me feel RICH to know I could SHOP and BUY books any time I wanted. So I downloaded anything that sounded interesting and actually filled up my Kindle cache and had to dump some books out to make room for new ones.

Now that I'm more financially secure, I buy at least as many books as I download for free; but I haven't gotten around to reading most of them. I know I'm not alone. The Japanese even have a word for buying more books than you can possibly ever read--Tsundoku. 

In the last few weeks, my workload has fallen off dramatically. Most of my work comes from Los Angeles, which is in lockdown. My clients in France, Norway, and Italy are all okay, but they're all in self-quarantine or lockdown. I am fortunate enough to have a bit of a cash cushion, so I'm not freaking out (yet)  but my state is about I'm being careful about money.  Which means not buying anything that's not edible or a paper product.

Instead of worrying, I'm burying my anxiety by writing. But I've also decided to start reading my way through my substantial (and eclectic) collection of unread books. I'm going to post on that adventure every day with a few words about the book in question. (Kind of like that "short story a day" challenge I did with Brian Lindemuth back in the day.) It'll be something to give me structure and it'll free up space on my Kindle for more books. (And if, God forbid, I run out of Kindle titles before the pandemic runs its course, I have a few bookcases full of books as well.)

Now more than ever, we're all in this together.

Fantasy Freebie Giveaway

Looking for something to read while you wait for the next season of Game of Thrones to start?(Tomorrow. Squeee!)  Grab some freebie fantasy reads here.  And see you in Westeros tomorrow.

Witchy Book Giveaway

The weather is gray and drippy where I am right now, which means it's a perfect day for reading. (Let's face it, most days are perfect for reading as far as I'm concerned.) If you're looking for something to read without spending any money, check out this giveaway of urban fantasy and paranormal fiction. A little magic, a little mayhem, a little romance. There's something for everyone. Click here to start downloading books.

Free books for the First of August

It's Tuesday. Want some free books for your favorite ebook reader? Of course you do. Here's an instafreebie giveaway sponsored by writer Erik Carter.

Friday Freebie Fiction!!!

It's Friday and there are freebies all over the place.

Like Dystopian? Here you go. Fancy something more steampunky? Check these out. Books with kick-ass heroines across a variety of genres? There's a giveaway for that.

Here's a thriller and mystery deal that will end soon--as in today, Friday the 28th. So don't wait.

Freebies...urban fantasy box set

I love boxed sets. They're a cheap (often free) way to sample new authors in whatever genre I'm currently interested in reading. And I always love Urban Fantasy. I've read Christine Pope's hosen, from her Djinn series, and I'm a fan of Pippa DaCosta, so I'm looking forward to reading Hidden Blade, as well as Stacy Clafin's Lost Wolf. All the selections in this set are full-length novels, and the myths seem to span everything from Norse to Egyptian gods and everything in between. (I'm a sucker for Egyptian mythology.) You can get this boxed set free right now.

Free crime and mystery fiction

Instafreebie downloads to feed your ereader. (Because when it comes to free books, can you ever have enough?) Download here.

Free Urban Fantasy for You!

Get free urban fantasy titles here.

Free Urban Fantasy giveaway

It's Monday, and there's a new Instafreebie giveaway!  This one is for Urban Fantasy novels. My favorite genre after mystery. Check out the freebies here.

Friday Free Books

PublicDomainPictures.net

Insta-freebie, a great source for free ebooks, is doing a blow-out giveaway this weekend. Sign up (it takes about three seconds) and start downloading books in half a dozen categories (nearly 1000 in all).

SFF Book Mega Promotion

Check them out here.

Novels with Soul--Free books in honor of African-American History Month

A multi-genre, multi-author giveaway! Select your books here.

Free YA Fantasy Books!

Who doesn't like free books? Here's a chance to grab ten free YA fantasy books for the weekend. Weather's predicted to be bad over much of the nation, so settle in for a winter night's read! Find the freebies here.

Free mysteries, thrillers and horror stories

This offer will be up for a week. Check out the offerings here.

More Free SF and Fantasy Books

Tons of books by best-selling authors in half a dozen sub-genres of fantasy and science fiction and all FREE!!!!!  Check out the offerings here.

Free books!

I buy a lot of books. I buy them at the grocery store, at yard sales, at library sales, at bookstores. I buy them online. (I love those penny and postage deals at Amazon.) I have a library card but my local library is so small that when I bring in bags of books to donate, it doubles their inventory. So. Books. I love them.

I also love my kindle. And my kindle app for phone. And for computer. So I buy ebooks too. But I also partake of the many, many, many freebie promotions. Because the only thing better than a book is a FREE book. Here's the latest InstaFreebie promotion for thrillers. If you like free books too, check it out.

Free Fantasy and Science Fiction (and horror) Book Promotion

Once again, multi-genre best-selling author Patty Jansen has put together a freebie promotion, and this one is a doozy. Some of the goodies you can snag include Kate Danley's beautiful Queen Mab, and Chosen, the first of USA Today best-selling author Christine Pope's Djinn Wars series. My retelling of Beauty and the Beast (The Summer Garden) is also on offer, so I'm in great company. Click here to go to the promo and choose your favorite reading platform.

Free Science Fiction and Fantasy books

Instafreebie is at it again with a giveaway hosted by Dean F. Wilson. Check out all the goodies here.

Free Sci Fi and Fantasy Books

Love free books?  Click here to go to Patty Jansen's monthly promo site where you can choose your favorite retailer. Just one click gives you a choice of more than 100 books in all flavors of sci fi and fantasy. You'll find short reads like my book Daughter of the Midnight King there, along with Heartblaze 1: Vampire Soul, The Cobweb Bride, and many others I KNOW you've been dying to read. And did I mention it's FREE???

Even more free books!!

I love the cover of this paranormal boxed set. Like the tagline says, this is not your normal paranormal cover with its gray/blue/violet color palette. Get it free here.