How many free books have you read?

[petrucci]

We have been having a discussion over in the copyright thread about the influence of free books (excluding ones that come from a library) on book sales. I thought I would start a thread to gather some data, as unrepresentative as it may be.

How many free books have you read?

When deciding to read a free book, did you consider reading a book that cost money?

Have you gotten a free book, and then decided to purchase a copy of the book? If so, why?

Has the availability of free books influenced your perception of how much a book should cost?

Feel free add any thoughts that you have on the topic.

[BeccaPrice]

On the whole, I don't tend to read free books just because they're free. I've gotten a couple from the Kindle library, but I was not impressed enough with them to go on to purchase the book or others in the series.

But then, I admit that I mostly get books based on strong recommendations/reviews from places like Dear Author or SBTB. I may not always agree with their grades, but I can always tell from the reviews there whether I'll like a book or not.

[Kumabjorn]

I have yet to finish a free book, outside the classics available at Gutenberg. I have started a few free indies, more than five but less than ten. So far I have deleted them within the first chapter. But I have read some classics that I missed reading in my youth, thanks to their availability either here in MR's Patricia Clark Memorial Library or at Gutenberg.org. Checking my Calibre Library I see that I have 14 such classics downloaded and finished reading and another 6 on my TBR list. I have however re-installed Calibre on a new computer and their might have been some on the older computer that I haven't transferred.

[mr ploppy]

Since everyone started giving them away on Amazon I've only paid for 2 (and I waited a month to see if they would be free too). Those I read, the free ones I've probably only read (or started to read and then given up) about a quarter of them. It hasn't changed my opinion of how much ebooks are worth, or how much I would pay for one I really wanted, but it has dramatically reduced the amount I spend in total.

[Ntsimp]

I don't buy ebooks at all. I have something over 1000 files on my device now, mostly epub, pdf, and djvu. The only non-free ones (aside from a handful of technically illegal ones I don't lose sleep over) are the pdfs of Martin Gardner's books my wife got me for Christmas a couple of years before I got the e-reader.
I got this thing to read Project Gutenberg books and free mathematical papers and lecture notes. Then I discovered the library here at MR. I don't see me ever buying any ebooks.

[GeckoFriend]

Since mid January I have read about 125 free books, not including public domain titles. Most of those have been short stories and novellas. Of those 125, I deleted about 35 without finishing or after reading them because I knew I would never read them again.

The remaining 90 books I have kept because I would be willing to read them again and/or others by the same author. I have made notes on 8 authors I would consider buying if the book sounds interesting and the price is reasonable.

ETA These books are all by authors I had not previously read.

[DiapDealer]

I've read a bunch of free ebooks.
I've read a bunch of cheap ebooks.
I've read a bunch of averagely-priced ebooks.
I've read a bunch of relatively expensive ebooks.

I've read a bunch of ebooks.

[wannabee]

I don't have a lot of ebooks. However, two thirds of them are free books. One free series I'm enjoying now will tempt me to buy the rest. I probably will.

[QuantumIguana]

I've read a whole lot less free books than I have downloaded. Most of the free books that I have read have been public domain books, but I've read a few free books that were free because the author chose not to charge for them. I've read perhaps 50 free books, counting the complete collection of Frank Baum's Oz books as separate books. I did pay for that collection, but I paid 95 cents for the whole collection.

When I decide to read any book, I only consider whether or not I want to read that book. No other book enters the calculation.

I have purchased a book after reading a free sample, but I have never paid for a book after having been given it for free. The books weren't shareware.

No, it hasn't influenced my opinion on how much books should cost.

[Namekuseijin]

The only free books I read are public domain classics. Because I'm sure I'm not wasting my time.

OTOH, the problem with the digital age is that we're digitizing everything first and asking later, like if something is well worth it to be left for posterity. This means some people we'll read any really trashy and juvenile pulp from the beginning of last century and immediately call it a classic, just because it's available as a public domain ebook! Ouch!

just let trash go down the toilet...

[Belfaborac]

Originally Posted by petrucci

How many free books have you read?

Probably around 30, with as many or more again laying around waiting to be read. That's not counting public domain books of course, in which case it would be hundreds and hundreds.

When deciding to read a free book, did you consider reading a book that cost money?

I'm not sure I understand the question. When deciding what to read next I consider the books, what know about the books and my expectations about the books, not what the books cost. Price doesn't enter into it in any way.

Have you gotten a free book, and then decided to purchase a copy of the book? If so, why?

No. If I did, the book would not be free, as I would have paid for it. I have, however, bought one or all of the author's remaining books after reading a free offering and liking it.

Has the availability of free books influenced your perception of how much a book should cost?

Not really. If, at some point in the future, we get to a state where free books, which are generally independent, self-published books, are generally indistinguishable from "regular" books in writing quality, editing, formatting and so on, then I would expect that to have an impact on prices. We're not there though, nor anywhere near it.

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

OTOH, the problem with the digital age is that we're digitizing everything first and asking later, like if something is well worth it to be left for posterity. This means some people we'll read any really trashy and juvenile pulp from the beginning of last century and immediately call it a classic, just because it's available as a public domain ebook! Ouch!

just let trash go down the toilet...

I've not seen any evidence that people are digging works out of the slush pile of the public domain and calling it a classic. Here's the list of the 100 most downloaded books from Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/scores/top I don't see a lot of trash on the list.

I think all books should be preserved. If someone finds an obscure public domain book and enjoys it, that's fine. It doesn't make it a classic, but the reader decides what is worth reading. It's not as if we are running out of storage space.

[Synamon]

How many free books have you read?

Including public domain and the darknet, hundreds. Excluding public domain and the darknet, single digits.

When deciding to read a free book, did you consider reading a book that cost money?

Sure, I could have read a book that cost money. Or I could have read a different book that was free. One of the benefits of eReaders is the ability to carry around a few hundred books at a time, choice is never limited.

Have you gotten a free book, and then decided to purchase a copy of the book? If so, why?

No. I have purchased another book by the author after getting a free book from the author. I've bought other books by an author after reading something they wrote that I got free from the darknet or a library as well.

Has the availability of free books influenced your perception of how much a book should cost?

My perception of how much a book should cost was skewed by used books for sale for $0.25 or $1, since that's what all my purchased paper books cost. I'm willing to spend a bit more on ebooks.

[petrucci]

Thanks for the answers. Keep them coming.

I suppose that I should give my 2 cents.

Most of my free books have been the physical kind. (I got many of them from a wonderful place called bookthing.org)

I have read hundreds of free books. Their availability has certainly diminished my book buying. However, there have been some instances in which free books have spurred me to make a purchase. Occasionally I will come across a broken set of books, and purchase the books that are missing from the set. As a whole I would say that the availability of free books has decreased the amount I am willing to pay for a book. This being said, I am still willing to pay substantial amounts of money for books on certain topics.

[Ginwen]

I'm not sure how many, and I've never later purchased the actual book I got free (which would make no sense to me), but if I enjoy a free book (not counting the public domain ones), I'll either buy more in the series or more by the same author since I do like to support authors I enjoy so they can keep writing. Giving away books has resulted in plenty of sales in my case.

I also have a ton of free books I haven't read yet, since if it is at all interesting I will pick it up while it's free, since sometimes free just last a few hours.