Quote:
Originally Posted by Trebro
Right now, I'm debating if I can justify paying for a packet or if I should just read the stuff I can for free/low cost. It's a hard call, as the geek in me really wants to be a voter.  |
Well, cost of the 6 novels alone in Kindle format (& the Windup Girl in paperback, though you can get it for $6 on Baen's Webscriptions; even cheaper if you bundle) would be a little over $55 US. So unless there's some authors whose works you really hate and would never pay for in there, you're already saving, especially once you add in the prices of the 4 novellas that aren't free reads online, which brings it up to $89 retail, not counting the unavailable out of print Kage Baker thing which seems to have been a limited edition now starting at $125 second-hand.
Of course, they are mostly in PDF format, which you might need to convert to read comfortably, and some of the bigger name titles are probably already available in a decently stocked local library.
Myself, I'd start by trying all the free stuff first and deciding how I'd vote on those/whether the Hugo nominee selection committee has completely lost all sense of taste based on what they picked for the shorter forms.
Then if I didn't think they've been smoking crack and throwing darts blindfolded to get their choices (or alternatively, that the field just had a really poor year), I'd lay out the money to buy if I felt I had it to spare and wouldn't be living off a 10-kilo bargain baggie of potatoes for the next three weeks, possibly flavoured with a bitter recurring argument over personal finances.