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Originally Posted by SensualPoet
But, you raise an interesting point. Do we download something just because it is free ... or because we have a, say, 70-80% chance of actually consuming it?
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Neither. Both. Probably somewhere in between.
I know that I've gone, read, and enjoyed some things I normally wouldn't have tried (those romantic comedy books I mentioned in the OP from the Dorchester freebie set) but gave a chance just because I'd gotten them free. If I hadn't downloaded because 70-80% of the time I'm a firm no-romo, I'd have missed out on some decently entertaining reads that cost me nothing more than my time and were certainly worth the bare few hours they took out of that.
The way I see things, these freebies are like a public library. Or maybe more like a rolling bookmobile whose selection changes on an irregular basis. Sure some of it won't be to my taste, but it costs me nothing to just add them to my account, it gives the publishers feedback that hey, people like free books! similar to how good circulation tells the municipal government that hey, people like taxpayer-subsidized public resources!.
And you never know, you might find some new author/genre/literary style/plot device you can therefore expand the limits of your enjoyable reading horizons with.
As I've found out, I still don't care for more typical romance-y romances, but screwball comedy variants have a surprising appeal. While it'll never be one of my reading mainstays, it's a pleasant change of pace.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SensualPoet
Here's a chance, thanks to your sleuthing, to obtain 2 out of 3 titles free and only "have" to buy one if we like it.
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I think where we must part ways on this is on the seeming assumption that we'd actually go and buy the "missing" 2nd book.
Personally, I feel absolutely no obligation to purchase. I have a library card and I'm not afraid to use it. Especially if it's merely to indulge my curiosity about a sequel for a book I mildly liked. But library circulation also goes towards which books/authors they'll add to their collection, so it's not like there isn't some benefit back for the promotion offerer.
That said, when I have really and truly enjoyed an author's works that I've gotten free, to the point where I want to read their other stuff and support them in some way, I do try to pay for some work of theirs that looks reasonably interesting and decently priced.
Case in point: a couple of months ago, Kensington offered two Sharyn McCrumb (of
Bimbos of the Death Sun fame, which she has apparently been trying to live down),
St. Dale (a very nice NASCAR/Canterbury Tales mash-up that's apparently taught in several US college literary courses, by the way) and
Once Around the Track, both about US-style stock car racing, at the Kindle store.
I admit I downloaded them purely because I download all the freebies indiscriminately. But once I realized who the author was, I decided to try one of her books first and ended up reading them both.
Although I know nothing about and flat-out don't care about NASCAR, that being a sport we don't have up here in BC, I enjoyed both of McCrumb's NASCAR-related novels enough that I've made the decision to purchase a third one she's co-written with a NASCAR driver and offers DRM-free on Smashwords.
And while
Faster Pastor isn't nearly as good as the other two, what with the lighter plot and all, and I've now read it via the library's hardback copy, I'm still getting it because I've been provided good entertainment at no cost to myself and would like to show appreciation back to those who gave it to me.
Mind you, I'll be waiting for Read an E-Book Week next year to see if the publisher offers a coupon discount, because it's 9.95, and also to see if they've fixed the worst of the godawful formatting or I'll have to do it myself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SensualPoet
I know it's just electrons, but I am struggling with "just because it's free ..."
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Well, sometimes you just have to take a chance on these things. Maybe it works out, maybe it doesn't, and if indeed you do enjoy the 1st and 3rd books, then it'll feel pretty nice to get the 2nd for an amortized cost of $2.50 or so. And if you don't, then there's always the handy "delete" function.
The odds are with you. You may be out a bit of time spent finding out it's just as rubbish as the 1-stars claim, but if it doesn't work, at least you won't be out any money. And if it really is a 5-star book, your joy is thus increased. For free.