[ethagnawl]

I love the idea of OverDrive but I've yet to have success with it. Either the book I'm interested in isn't available or it's unavailable for weeks. I don't have a ton of time to read or to drop what I am reading when something becomes available, so I usually just wind up buying the book if I'm really excited about it.

Granted, my library is not part of a major city's system but it's also not what I'd call a small one. I'd be curious to know how NYC or Chicago compare, as those are where people I know have had very positive experiences with these options.

[y1n0]

What works for me with overdrive is using holds and then when it comes available, if I'm not ready to read I let someone skip ahead of me. That way I'm still next in line but it gives me a few days until someone else finishes the book and then it pings me again.

[aardvarkr]

If you read one book a quarter then yeah it’s not for you. If you read one book a week you can queue up fifty good books and wait for that one to come available at some point in the year.

[komali2]

I used to do that but then like 10 books would come available at the same time and I'd feel all this pressure to read them as fast as possible.

In the end I gave up and just download now.

[IlikeKitties]

Just Pirate stuff on Annas Archive. Jumping through these ridiculous hoops for less than a floppy disk of data is just a humiliation ritual.

[kelnos]

Authors should get paid for their work, though. Publishers, too, to be honest (they also do a lot of work and usually run on thin margins).

Waiting in line in a library app is annoying, but the waiting signals demand, which drives the library to buy more copies to circulate.