blogs, etc to find out about good free/cheap ebooks?

rjnagle · 07-09-2011, 10:25 AM

Hi, there, I'm an author and ebook publisher who is about to embark on some kind of online ezine about free/cheap/indie ebooks. Specifically I want to do reviews by and guest posts about free/cheap/indie ebooks. (Cheap = $2.99 or less). There's a lot of great stuff there, and I want to know how to find out about these things.

Can anyone recommend some blogs or some places where you can find great information about new/cheap/indie/free ebooks?

Yes, I follow MobileRead and find good recommendations there occasionally. But I'm looking for something which isn't a forum -- where the emphasis is on identifying new/unknown authors who have published an ebook. I'm not interested in browsing through distributor sites like amazon or BN; they tend to give prominence to the wrong kind of ebooks -- publishing fads and the latest installments from Big Publishers. I'm not interested in anything over $3 or $4!

You may already know that Nook owners can visit their local B&N and download the complete ebook for free onto their Nook for one hour. I'd love to spend a few hours each weekend doing that. But I have no idea where to find titles!

Let me add that I'm not particularly interested in genre stuff, but I'm not totally against them either.

I have a slight preference against Kindle ebooks -- after all I have a Nook, but if the blog/reviewing source is good enough, I'll be willing to take the time to check if the author is on BN or Smashwords or Lulu as well.

Also, I'm not particularly interested in those promotional discounts (i.e., 99 cents for 1 day only).

I know about http://dailycheapreads.com/ (ok, but just Press releases),
http://blog.booksontheknob.org/ (practically the same). Mostly these are low quality titles though.

http://dearauthor.com/ -- way too commercial and not my genre preference anyway.

I follow a lot of literary blogs and even did a writeup a few years ago about good free ebooks http://www.teleread.com/free-ebooks/ and http://www.teleread.com/robert-nagle/ebook-freebies-1/ But some of the links are out-of-date by now.

Can you recommmend some good places to find recommendations for low cost ebooks?

Your help is appreciated!

PS, Here are some other discoveries both on MR and elsewhere.

List of MR Authors with URLs to their websites
List of MR threads where people recommend their faves (broken down by genre).
MR Thread about Freebies on the Kindle (allegedly)
Randomize Me, is an individual-run blog/grabbag with an excellent rundown of the latest free/cheap ebooks, with some commentary/reviews as well.
Red Adept Reviews, a blog reviewing Kindle ebooks.
Inkmesh: a site which notifies you about free and cheap deals: Inkmesh Kindle Deals and Inkmesh BN deals, Kobo Deals, Smashwords Deals. Also on Kindle: Pixelofink,
EreaderIQ.
Inspired Reads (christian fiction).
Indie Ebook Hall of Fame and Ebook Review Sites
Ebacklist Collection list all fiction previously published elsewhere now available on Smashwords
Grace Krispy Book Reviews.
If you are willing to review new titles, you can get free ebooks at the librarything ebook member giveaway.

Nate the great · 07-09-2011, 10:27 AM

www.ereaderiq.com is a pretty good site for free Kindle ebooks.

Loosheesh · 07-09-2011, 10:45 AM

rjnagle, in addition to the first three sites you mentioned, I also follow these blogs for free and cheap books:

1. Books on The Knob
2. RandomizeME
3. Pixel of Ink (and its sister site Inspired Reads)

In my experience, the first one is the most comprehensive with the second one following close behind. Pixel of Ink (and Inspired Reads) only features Kindle books.

rjnagle · 07-09-2011, 11:35 AM

Thanks, I've added these to my list. I'll try to add to the OP when I can. By the way, Inkmesh site http://inkmesh.com/free-ebooks/?site=nook seems to be great!

dreams · 07-09-2011, 02:49 PM

GraceKrispy's indie book reviews - MotherLode

From her site: 1) I’m very honest, and I will give both praise and constructive criticism. Then I’ll rate it accordingly, on a 5-star system (in half-star increments). Excessive grammar or spelling mistakes will factor in negatively. I expect self-published books to be well-edited, just as all published books should be. Books rated at 3 stars or above can be considered recommended by me.

I've found that her reviews are a pretty good indicator of whether or not I will enjoy a book.

purple_fishy · 07-13-2011, 02:16 PM

I have gotten a few very good books for my Nook because of this blog:
FreeCheapReads

rjnagle · 08-05-2011, 02:56 PM

The randomizeme blog http://randomizeme.wordpress.com/ looks interesting too. Thanks.

07-09-2011, 10:25 AM	#1
rjnagle Zealot Posts: 126 Karma: 2167 Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Houston, Texas Device: ipad 1, Nook Simple Touch, Kindle 3, ebookwise 1150	blogs, etc to find out about good free/cheap ebooks? Hi, there, I'm an author and ebook publisher who is about to embark on some kind of online ezine about free/cheap/indie ebooks. Specifically I want to do reviews by and guest posts about free/cheap/indie ebooks. (Cheap = $2.99 or less). There's a lot of great stuff there, and I want to know how to find out about these things. Can anyone recommend some blogs or some places where you can find great information about new/cheap/indie/free ebooks? Yes, I follow MobileRead and find good recommendations there occasionally. But I'm looking for something which isn't a forum -- where the emphasis is on identifying new/unknown authors who have published an ebook. I'm not interested in browsing through distributor sites like amazon or BN; they tend to give prominence to the wrong kind of ebooks -- publishing fads and the latest installments from Big Publishers. I'm not interested in anything over $3 or $4! You may already know that Nook owners can visit their local B&N and download the complete ebook for free onto their Nook for one hour. I'd love to spend a few hours each weekend doing that. But I have no idea where to find titles! Let me add that I'm not particularly interested in genre stuff, but I'm not totally against them either. I have a slight preference against Kindle ebooks -- after all I have a Nook, but if the blog/reviewing source is good enough, I'll be willing to take the time to check if the author is on BN or Smashwords or Lulu as well. Also, I'm not particularly interested in those promotional discounts (i.e., 99 cents for 1 day only). I know about http://dailycheapreads.com/ (ok, but just Press releases), http://blog.booksontheknob.org/ (practically the same). Mostly these are low quality titles though. http://dearauthor.com/ -- way too commercial and not my genre preference anyway. I follow a lot of literary blogs and even did a writeup a few years ago about good free ebooks http://www.teleread.com/free-ebooks/ and http://www.teleread.com/robert-nagle/ebook-freebies-1/ But some of the links are out-of-date by now. Can you recommmend some good places to find recommendations for low cost ebooks? Your help is appreciated! PS, Here are some other discoveries both on MR and elsewhere. List of MR Authors with URLs to their websites List of MR threads where people recommend their faves (broken down by genre). MR Thread about Freebies on the Kindle (allegedly) Randomize Me, is an individual-run blog/grabbag with an excellent rundown of the latest free/cheap ebooks, with some commentary/reviews as well. Red Adept Reviews, a blog reviewing Kindle ebooks. Inkmesh: a site which notifies you about free and cheap deals: Inkmesh Kindle Deals and Inkmesh BN deals, Kobo Deals, Smashwords Deals. Also on Kindle: Pixelofink, EreaderIQ. Inspired Reads (christian fiction). Indie Ebook Hall of Fame and Ebook Review Sites Ebacklist Collection list all fiction previously published elsewhere now available on Smashwords Grace Krispy Book Reviews. If you are willing to review new titles, you can get free ebooks at the librarything ebook member giveaway. Last edited by rjnagle; 03-01-2012 at 10:49 AM. Reason: added links

07-09-2011, 10:27 AM	#2
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	www.ereaderiq.com is a pretty good site for free Kindle ebooks. Last edited by Nate the great; 07-09-2011 at 10:32 AM.

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07-09-2011, 10:45 AM	#3
Loosheesh Wizard Posts: 1,680 Karma: 3137505 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Jianghu Device: PW1, PW5, iPhone SE 2016, iPhone 13 Pro, iPad Pro 9.7, iPad Pro 2021	rjnagle, in addition to the first three sites you mentioned, I also follow these blogs for free and cheap books: 1. Books on The Knob 2. RandomizeME 3. Pixel of Ink (and its sister site Inspired Reads) In my experience, the first one is the most comprehensive with the second one following close behind. Pixel of Ink (and Inspired Reads) only features Kindle books.

07-09-2011, 11:35 AM	#4
rjnagle Zealot Posts: 126 Karma: 2167 Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Houston, Texas Device: ipad 1, Nook Simple Touch, Kindle 3, ebookwise 1150	Thanks, I've added these to my list. I'll try to add to the OP when I can. By the way, Inkmesh site http://inkmesh.com/free-ebooks/?site=nook seems to be great!

07-09-2011, 02:49 PM	#5
dreams It's about the umbrella Posts: 25,110 Karma: 56250158 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony 505\| K Fire \| KK 3G+Wi-Fi \| iPhone 3Gs \|Vista 32-bit Hm Prem w/FF	GraceKrispy's indie book reviews - MotherLode From her site: 1) I’m very honest, and I will give both praise and constructive criticism. Then I’ll rate it accordingly, on a 5-star system (in half-star increments). Excessive grammar or spelling mistakes will factor in negatively. I expect self-published books to be well-edited, just as all published books should be. Books rated at 3 stars or above can be considered recommended by me. I've found that her reviews are a pretty good indicator of whether or not I will enjoy a book.

07-13-2011, 02:16 PM	#6
purple_fishy Zealot Posts: 124 Karma: 33812 Join Date: May 2011 Location: The land of sand and sun Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Nook STR, iPad Air 2	I have gotten a few very good books for my Nook because of this blog: FreeCheapReads

08-05-2011, 02:56 PM	#7
rjnagle Zealot Posts: 126 Karma: 2167 Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Houston, Texas Device: ipad 1, Nook Simple Touch, Kindle 3, ebookwise 1150	The randomizeme blog http://randomizeme.wordpress.com/ looks interesting too. Thanks.

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