Is the Kindle worth it just for the free books?

[Mike L]

Just to add to the good advice you've already been given ....

It's true that there are a vast number of free public-domain books available. The downside is that many of them are full of typographical errors, poor punctuation and sub-standard formatting.

This is no reflection on the people who convert and proofread these books. They are, after all, all volunteers, and they work very hard. Also, not all such books are so badly done. There are many that are as good as commercial publications, but they are very much the exception.

But it is something you need to be aware of.

[carnivroar]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I buy innumerable Kindle books and certainly wouldn't consider them to be overpriced.

Originally Posted by patrickt

Sorry. Lost me with your first stupid statement.

Good-bye

Are you kidding me?

http://www.amazon.com/Materials-Tril...ef=pd_sim_b_15
vs
http://www.amazon.com/His-Dark-Mater...=AG56TWVU5XWC2


http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-ebo...7081319&sr=1-1
vs
http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-50t...7081294&sr=1-1

And that's without considering the price for used.

[HarryT]

No, I'm not kidding you. The fact that you've found a few examples of books that you personally consider to be over-priced does not change the general fact that the majority of Kindle books are reasonably priced - in my view, at least. I buy several Kindle books a week; they are typically priced at between about 60-75% the price of the corresponding paperback, which personally I consider to be very reasonable.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I buy innumerable Kindle books and certainly wouldn't consider them to be overpriced.

I would. I would have to say that a lot of eBooks these days are overpriced be it from Amazon or in ePub.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I would. I would have to say that a lot of eBooks these days are overpriced be it from Amazon or in ePub.

Perhaps I'm just not particularly price-conscious. I have a well-paid job; money is not particularly a consideration to me when buying books.

[carnivroar]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Perhaps I'm just not particularly price-conscious. I have a well-paid job; money is not particularly a consideration to me when buying books.

The fact that you're one of the few people that think Kindle books are not expensive does not change the general fact that the majority of Kindle books are overpriced - in my view, at least.

[janicew]

I'd say yes, a Kindle probably is worth the free books at $80 for entry level. It's a fantastic way to read, and the free books aren't limited to just the classics. Many independent authors that I've come to really enjoy have offered their books for free on Amazon. You can get endless amounts of reading for free or VERY low cost (less than $4 USD).

I bought my mom a kindle for Christmas knowing full well that 95% of what she reads on it will be free or low cost. But she loves it. And she is reading some very enjoyable things.

Big name authors will be higher priced, and while if its something I want to read I will spend the money. That doesn't mean that I don't growl sometimes when the ebook is the same (or nearly the same) price as a physical book or on rare occasion more. So, while I'll spend the money, I do understand the "overpriced" statement if you focus purely on NYT bestseller type stuff.

[Kevin2960]

Point isn't really whether or not Kindle or other eBooks are overpriced, But that the OP wants to know if it's worth having a Kindle for free or low priced books, IMHO the simple answer is YES ...

I have Lots of free books on my readers, hundreds in total, I have many books I have bought, but ALL are bought at very low prices ranging from around £0.60 to around £4.99 and Most are LESS than £2.50 ...

I have enough books to last until several years after my current eReaders have died and gone to the eReader Store in the sky,

If you want to then purchase other books ... costing more you can, but I think a Kindle would VERY quickly PAY for itself!

Look into the sites already mentioned here, cost it out ... I'm sure you can't go wrong ...

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by Mike L

The downside is that many of them are full of typographical errors, poor punctuation and sub-standard formatting.

This is no reflection on the people who convert and proofread these books.

Since I've proofread a little, that's nice to hear

Over the years, I've read many Project Gutenberg books. And, all the time, also reading PB's. It's little more than personal opinion, but I think Project Gutenberg has, if anything, fewer typographical errors than those from major publishers.

There are sources for obscure public domain books which are, indeed, full of typographical errors -- because they have not been proofread after scanning. Here is an example of purely local interest book that I read years ago, and remember for having many errors. But although such titles are high in number, hardly anyone will want to read them except as part of a historical research project.

For well formatted free classics, I would first choose one from this web site. Project Gutenberg comes next, and, once you get past the cover and introductory material, is not far behind.

[HarryT]

The modern PG stuff is fine, Steve. The problem occurs with the older books - those which were typed in, not scanned.

A classic example (no pun intended) is Dickens' "The Old Curiosity Shop". I used the PG text as the basis for the fully-proofed version I've uploaded here, and, while proofing it, came across two cases where a complete double page of text was missing, several missing paragraphs, and innumerable missing sentences, obviously where the person typing it in had skipped over text in the book. And that's before we even get to the usual typos, missing accents and italics, and all the other formatting issues that needed fixing.

And most of the free versions of "Curiousity Shop" are based on that PG text.

[tofubean]

For me, yes. I had the kindle keyboard for over a year now. Mainly reading free ebooks, fan fiction and some converted documents. It's already worth it at $139 for me. If my kindle needs to be replaced in future, I'd not hesitate to get the $79 kindle or $99 kindle touch.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by carnivroar

I know they're free and I've got a lot of them on my Kindle for PC, but I would be a lot more inclined to read if I had them on something I could hold like a book.

I think so. It's nicer and more comfortable to curl up with a book on the kindle than reading on a pc. You forget the device, and just get into the book. Good luck with your decision

[geoffwood]

Just to clarify if you look at the pricing examples above there is a note on both the Kindle Editions that reads "This price set by publisher". Blame the publishers, not Amazon.

[carnivroar]

Originally Posted by geoffwood

Just to clarify if you look at the pricing examples above there is a note on both the Kindle Editions that reads "This price set by publisher". Blame the publishers, not Amazon.

I've been aware of that.

[Mike L]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The modern PG stuff is fine, Steve. The problem occurs with the older books - those which were typed in, not scanned.

It's also worth noting that the PD books here on MobileRead are usually of a higher standard than many other sources.

Mike