Unless a book equivalent of Big Champagne becomes involved, I don't think we'll ever know the number of free books downloaded.
Of course, the number of free books that go unread will be much greater than the number of paid books that go unread.
However, I believe that if one wants to know the extent of the penetration of eBooks into the book market, then one must include the free books. The fact that no one is making any money off them doesn't mean they don't exist.
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