Sampling Books with Kindle for PC

I just downloaded Kindle for PC, and am reading the sample chapters from Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol. This is going to change the way (or change back to the pre-internet way) I shop for books.

If there is a Kindle version of a book I think I might want to buy, I will be downloading the sample and finding out if I really like. (The two people I know that own Kindles listed this as one of the things they love about it.)

While Amazon has had their “Look Inside”  for many books, I have never found it to be the equivalent of being in the bookstore, and so have rarely used it. Kindle for the PC, on the other hand, looks like it does provide the experience that I want. It also allows me to do it on my own time and at home (something a bookstore can’t replicate.)

The “sample” for The Lost Symbol is the first six chapters – nice. If I get hooked, I will buy (and isn’t that what they are gambling on), if I don’t I will be able to spend my money a book I like more.

I am still on the fence about buying a Kindle, and I don’t plan on reading whole books on my PC, but the Kindle for PC definitely has found a place on my computer.

Now if only the had more books with Kindle editions. Hey publishers, get with it – these samples are looking like a competitive advantage to me (and don’t make them short – give us enough to tell if we really like the book).

Update: Check out my followup to this post: Out With Kindle for PC In With Kindle for iPhone.