My reading habits are funny on the Kindle. Maybe it's just that I'm cheap. The only time I every pay full price for books is when I'm traveling and I treat myself to gems from my magical bookshelf at the Powell's in PDX. Since there's no half.com for buying used Kindle books I end up talking myself into bargain books from Amazon's Kindle Daily Deals or the under $3.99 section. I just still struggle with the concept of paying the full trade paperback price for an ebook.
As a result I think it's fair to say that I'm partaking of a different demographic of literature. Yes, there are many classics that are free/nearly free for the Kindle, but that's not what I'm reading. I'm delving deeply into sci-fi and (kind of) fantasy, two genres that are flush with affordable titles. Haven't delved into romance yet. Not sure I'm that desperate to save a buck.
Nestled firmly in this wheelhouse is The Scourge, a Kindle Serial that combines the courtly middle ages with a zombie apocalypse. A band of three nights seeks to cut their way through the hordes in the hopes of finding/saving his wife. They pick their way through (somewhat) historically accurate cities/settings and encounter much of the class/religious conflict of the time in addition to flesh-lusting undead.
I'll be honest, I'm liking the Serial concept. I was a little concerned that they might be underwhelming in length at $2 a subscription (somewhere around 6-8 episodes for that price) but it's plenty of mass with plenty of sugar and fat. Kind of like ebook junk food. The episodic aspect is nice too. I'm motivated to quickly read through each delivery and then eagerly await the next release. I understand there are some online communities for many of the serials so I might check that out.
From a price/value mix the serial concept is working for me. If other titles are as well-written as The Scourge this will probably be my Kindle media of choice. If reading paper books ever becomes completely unappealing to me, or if I want to load and travel light up for a long trip maybe I'll break down and drop some big money for what I consider real literature. Or I could just buy a ton of this stuff!
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