Quote:
Originally Posted by carbonize
I think most people go through a phase of downloading pretty much any free ebook they can find and end up with hundreds of unread books on their computer/reader. I know I certainly when through this stage and am only now coming out the other side. I have read some absolute rubbish to the point that I have actually deleted a few books after only reading ten pages because if they haven't managed to grab my interest by them it's not a good sign ( Don't Mess With Earth being one I felt was so bad I had to write a review).
Occasionally you will find a gem of a free book (I am currently reading the Northworld Trilogy which is a good read) or a good author (Cory Doctorow is one such author in my opinion) but a lot of the time you will find work that has not been proofread and has not had anybody helping the author by reading what they have done and pointing out where improvements could be made before publishing. |
I only recently set up my devices for serious ebook investing and reading, and am starting to go through what you've described here. (Although I must disclose that I'm an author as well.)
As a reader, though, this experience is similar to what I've been going through for years with my favorite bargain bookstore. I went through a "buy a book just because it's [equivalent of 50 US cents]" phase, and then wound up with so many books I didn't want to keep on my shelves. And eventually books I didn't want to read. There were gems of course, and I follow those authors to this day, but I spent a lot of time and money sifting through everything.
Now I decide based on interest, cost and reviews, for both ebooks and the paper variety.
As for the original question, I'm not at all daunted by the possibility of "too many ebooks". In the span of a year I lost many books to termites and a flood, and after that flood began to explore going more digital with my reading.