I've read perhaps a dozen ebooks I've legally got for free (a couple of public domain, a few self-published books, a couple of big publisher free promo books, one Baen free book). The overwhelming majority of the ebooks I read I've bought and paid for.
I've downloaded a lot more (well over 200), mostly self-published and traditional publisher free promos, although I've become a lot more picky about them lately, only picking up those that come recommended and sound interesting (or are traditionally published and sound interesting).
Once downloaded/acquired, price doesn't play a big role, although I do tend to give precedence to the books I've actually paid for - less so because of the price and more so because if I've already bought a book for actual money, it's more likely to be a "have a more than a vague possible interest in it" sort of book.
On the other hand, I decided to try and include reading at least one self-published book a month this year, so while I've also paid money for some self-published books, I expect I'll be trying to get through at least some of the free downloads I've saved.
I don't think I'd buy a book I've legally acquired for free, although I'm willing to pay money for the same author's other books if I've enjoyed the free book. So far that hasn't actually happened; there have been a few authors I may consider in the future, as I found their free offerings reasonably entertaining, but my to-be-read pile is so high that I've tried to avoid adding new books in "maybe" series/authors to it.
|