Monday, March 25, 2019

Down The Rabbit Hole


Every Single Day for the past FIVE years, I have read in this kindle paperwhite e-reader. I fell down the Rabbit Hole of accepting a new commitment and Have NOT Read A Single Word for TWO DAYS.
This may not sound like a problem, because you would think no one would know OR care but me.
THEY are watching me. The first of the month, while reading, a message showed at bottom of page that says Congratulations! you have read all 28 days of February, as you did the month before.

When I told Bob this, he said how do THEY KNOW???? I said, well the books are on their website. Trust me they KNOW. they send me an email and say, did you know your library book will expire in 3 days?   Another one says, if you enjoyed Jack Reacher, you will love this new author. See they KNOW I have read every Jack Reacher that has been written and am on the waiting list for the next one....
If they can track that I have been LOOKING at rings, they can tell what I am reading. Also the books in Kindle unlimited, they count the pages I read, and that is how the author is paid.. File this under JUST BECAUSE I COULD....or  JUST SO YOU KNOW

17 comments:

Ginny Hartzler said...

I had no idea!! Interesting too how the author gets paid.

Ann said...

I had no idea that was how the author was paid. I just assumed that it was from the sale price of the books sold on various sites.
My kindle is only connected to the internet when I need to download books. Other than that it is offline.

eileeninmd said...

Hello, I was not sure how the author was paid. I have not seen the message about my pages read. I do see the book recommendations all the time. Have a happy day!

Hootin Anni said...

....it's called cookies. At least I think.

Third party websites & cookies are on each page opened. You can shut them off by disabling 3rd party cookies on your browser. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING

My Mind's Eye said...

Oh my stars....you have a Kindle stalker
Hugs Cecilia

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
I think by the comments above, it is important to point out to readers that there are two ways to be published by Amazon; straight-out whole purchase and/or "Library lending" aka Kindle Unlimited. In the first case, the author will earn a royalty (35-70% - delivery costs). HOWEVER, if they are in the unlimited program, where punters pay a monthly fee to Amazon and can then read as many books as they wish in the month, the authors only get paid for pages read and that amounts $0.00488 per page (occasionally going up or down).

The other thing to be aware of is that Amazon will only pay on the first read of a book. So if you as the reader open a book and only read, say two or three pages, then close that book to go read another because the first book is for another time/mood, the author will only receive the average 1.2c royalty from you for that book.

Very few authors actually make a genuine living from their craft.

I do not subscribe to KU, so do not get the 'read' messages, but do see recommendations at the end. Which is fine. I also download to my local device so I can read at all times without wifi. YAM xx

Rose said...

I did know authors were paid per page with kindle unlimited, but I did not know how much. I used to always keep the wifi off, exccept when downloading books but lately have left it on all the time. It saves a lot on the battery to keep the wifi turned off.

Gayle said...

So many ins and outs. I did not know how author's were paid.
I have been reviewing all my 'monthly' charges for various 'good' deals (??). This post will help me with my prime a/c.
When I'm reading heavily the unlimited seems like a good deal but when I turn to sewing or family research then it's a loss.

Mevely317 said...

I'd no idea!!! … but that makes sense about 'them' tracking our every cyber move. I've a couple Blogger friends/authors who are self-published. In fact, I just downloaded Jack's autobiographical 'love story.' I'd better get to reading, huh?

PS - Oh, BTW. I just finished reading The Silent Patient; WHAT a surprise ending. Not since "A Killer's Mind" have I been so blown away.

photowannabe said...


Hmmm...sounds a bit Big Brother when you put it that way.
I knew this but seeing it in print makes me feel weird.
What a good way to get your reading in and really know how much you have read.
I used to devour books but somehow have gotten out of the habit...
Note to self...
Time to get back in the reading mode!
Thanks, Sandra for the gentle boot in the backside...

DawnTreader said...

As I'm not in the US, I can't use my Kindle for library books, and I don't think Kindle Unlimited can be used here either. I either buy my Kindle books or download free ones. So they don't keep count the same way for me, or at least don't send messages about it to my Kindle. Of course it's somewhere in their system anyway though (when I'm online) or they wouldn't know what page I'm on. Something I make use of for example when using "whispersync" to shift between e-book and audio book sometimes, when I have both!

The Adventures of the LLB Gang said...

Such a busy gal you are!! I also love to read, and do a bunch of "reading" with audiobooks in the on those busy days when I find myself on the road!

Linda said...

This could be a little unnerving!! My app on the iPad tells me when my friends are missing me in Scrabble...I didn't even know they cared!!!

Inger said...

I tried Kindle Unlimited, but didn't find any books that I liked.

DeniseinVA said...

All those cookies out there, they know everything about us. Reminds me of George Orwell :)

Just Mags said...

This is not surprising they follow us all over the internet. I do not use Kindle I still prefer to hold and read a book or read stories on blogs of writers that I follow. Hugs

Debby@Just Breathe said...

I was wondering how they get paid. I pretty much get all my books for free. Yes they know everything, there is no hiding from it now!