The Quality Of Free Ebook Novels

Discussion in Books, eBooks & Audio Books started by RomanAnthonysMama • Feb 7, 2015.

  1. RomanAnthonysMama

    RomanAnthonysMamaMember

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    I haven't ventured much into the free eBook section of Google Play or Kindle, but from what I have seen when I browsed around, it seems like they have a lot to offer. I would love to read a few of the free fiction novels, but are they worth it? I know it seems silly to assume premature that free isn't as good as purchased, but I was just wondering if anyone could share some reviews with me on novels they have purchased on there.

    Also, I was wondering if anyone could suggest any novel that they enjoyed? I'm really into Sci-Fi and Fantasy novels such as ones by Piers Anthony. I found a lot of those in there by various authors I have not yet heard of, so I'm just looking for a little feedback. Thanks!
     
  2. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    I've read a number of those books and some of them were pretty good. There's one book for example which the author had intended to publish but died before he could. The MS was discovered by his mother and it ended up online as a free ebook. It's one of the best humor books I've ever read. So "free" doesn't necessarily mean low quality.

    I'm not a sci-fi fan so I'm sorry but I can't provide any useful recommendations.
     
  3. clairebeautiful

    clairebeautifulActive Member

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    I'm a pretty snobby reader, when it comes down to it, so I rarely go to the library and just grab something that catches my eye. I basically only read books that have been specifically recommended or that I've heard about on the news or radio that grab my attention by hearing reviews. I'm not usually a big fan of NYTimes bestsellers either. "Bestseller" means lots of people are reading it, and "lots" of people are also generally not deep thinkers any more, so a bestseller very often indicates a shallow read to me.

    Not always.

    Anyway, to your eBook question - my one point to add is that very often authors will make a book cheap or free to get their name out there. Always a gamble with a completely unknown name, but perhaps you will see something by an author you recognize. I'm always game for trying multiple books by the same author if it is someone I've liked in the past.

    I get my best book suggestions from my book club.
     
  4. blueeyes

    blueeyesActive Member

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    I read a lot of free ebooks that I get from Amazon and some have been quite good. I have been able to get a few books by my favorite authors and have found a few others that I have begun to follow. My favorite genre is crime/mystery/thrillers and there are tons to chose from . I'm not sure about the the sci-fi or fantasy categories though.
     
  5. Beautyspin

    BeautyspinMember

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    My experience has been to the contrary. When I saw the free section of the Kindle library, I went berserk and downloaded the books by the dozens. I had to delete most of them. A couple of them were so bad, I felt I could have written better and I am not even a writer. Maybe that is because I was indiscriminate in downloading the books. I should give it a try again and this time I should pay attention to the star ratings and reviews more, probably.
     
  6. blues

    bluesMember

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    The majority of free books I've downloaded were, well, pretty bad. With some of them, you could tell the writer didn't really bother thoroughly checking it for errors or they didn't have a editor who did that for them. The characters aren't as fleshed out and the plot is typically one-dimensional. On the other hand, I've read a few that I very much enjoyed. For most books, I would read it if it sounded interesting, but I believe free e-books have more merit if someone you know recommended it to you. The good ones are harder to find; I would view the chances as more close to finding a good fanfiction out of the millions as publishing a book is harder than just putting one out online.
     
  7. kate23

    kate23Active Member

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    I have a really long reading list and there's always a specific book or series I want to read next so I've never checked out the free eBooks before. Most of the books I read are really popular so I figure they wouldn't be in the free eBook section. I think I'll go ahead and browse through the section anyway though, maybe something will catch my eye that I wouldn't otherwise have seen or considered reading.

    There are a few classics I want to read too. I've heard they're for free on Amazon as well because their copyright has expired, making them "fair use".
     
  8. Flowerpower

    FlowerpowerMember

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    You're in luck! I hope you like old timey authors such as Orson Wells ad Jules Vere who are the some of the pioneers of Science Fiction; because they're available for free on Google Play store. You should also try venturing into Mysteries/Crime, there are lots of Sherlock Holmes stories there and they never get old.
    I only download the classics myself because I'm assured of the quality of writing.