What the
Feck?! (WTF?!)
Every
Monday we talk about a book related
topic
that had us
thinking WTF?! while reading a book
or talking to
others in the book community.
Are You Reading Those Freebies?
by Jonetta (Ejaygirl)
So, I decided to take a break and really analyze a free book before putting it on my shelf, even if it was free.
I also have some freebies from Barnes & Noble for my iPad reading app. However, I haven't checked in for about a year so I haven't collected that many.
I don't have an accurate way of measuring how many of these books I've read since I didn't tag them. But, there are a few that were memorable because I enjoyed them so much.
One I recall is The Wild One by Danelle Harmon, the first book in the de Montforte Brothers series. I actually discovered it when she promoted the book in one of my Shelfari groups, liked the description of her series and downloaded the freebie from Amazon. It turned out to be one of my most favorite books and the hero, Gareth de Monteforte, is on my top ten list.
Last year, one of these freebies was a selected to be the group read for the month in my Mystery & Suspense group. The Huntress by Alexandrea Sokoloff turned out to be a diamond in the ruff (see my interview and reviews) and I'm now sucked into the series.
I've got another in the queue to read that has turned out to be a real success. Forged in Fire by Trish McCallan has taken off and led to what is now a 4-book series (Red-Hot Seals).
I don't download as many as I used to and really take the time to figure out if it's a book I will actually like AND read. I read the best and worst reviews and checkout the authors' websites. (Confession: I ducked away to check out Amazon's top 100 free best sellers while writing this and downloaded two books).
So, are you reading those freebies?
What's been your experience when you do?
Any standouts?
Have your freebie downloads habits changed any?
Do you know how many you've got?
Come on, it's confession time!
I downloaded 'French Quarter' by Lacy Alexander for free like 2 years ago & I read it right away. I loved it & have read a bunch of her other books since then. Great author who I wouldn't have found unless one of the blogs (can't remember which one) hadn't of posted it as a freebie. I do have MANY freebies sitting in my Kindle unread though. There's just never enough time to read them all.
ReplyDelete-Selena Mc
I agree...time is always going to be the issue.
DeleteI have tons of freebies sitting on my Nook. I did recently go through and delete a few I knew I would never read. But there's still a nice pile for me to check out when I have the time.
ReplyDeleteI don't have the heart or willpower to delete any of them!
DeleteI try not to d/l too many freebies unless it's a book that I'm actually interested in reading. Otherwise, I find my virtual TBR pile keeps growing and growing and, I get discouraged. I know I don't have to read 'em but as soon as something is on my eReader I feel obligated.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way. It's really hard for me to remove a book I now own from my TBR shelf.
DeleteI've done the same as you have. Used to download so many of the free titles and never got around to reading them. I've been more picky lately. I've also found that reading a short story that is free, might drive me to try a new series.
ReplyDeleteI've read some really good free books over the years. Many of them have been m/m.
M/M
The Girl For Me by Failte
NonConsensual Love by Failte
Not His Kiss to Take by Finn Marlowe
The Slave Breakers (a four book series) by Maculategiraffe - This series does have a few editing issues that you here about in self published books, but it is not abundant.
Molly’s Lips: Club Mephisto Retold (Club Mephisto #1.5) by Annabel Joseph
Beyond Denial (Beyond, #2.5) by Kit Rocha
Urban Fantasy
A Stroke of Dumb Luck by Shiloh Walker
I know that there ware more, but I can't always remember what was free and what wasn't
Thanks for the list, Melanie! I'm going to check out some of these.
DeleteGood topic! I always wondered about this too. I stay away from most freebies. Idk why, I guess I feel like they may not be that great. :-/ *bad me!* The few that I have downloaded were maybe a novella or one that's not normally free but is for a special...not many though. I have enough on my virtual TBR pile with all the books I keep buying. It's very overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteWish I had your willpower!
DeleteI used to download a lot of freebies but I rarely do now. Most of them were bad and would put me in a reading slump. If you have a lot of them to read, I would suggest reading one free ebook after reading a regular book. That's what I used to do and it really helped me get through them all.
ReplyDeleteA few standouts:
Spying in High Heels by Gemma Halliday
A Hidden Fire by Elizabeth Hunter
Darkness Falls by Jessica Sorensen
Lumberjack in Love by Penny Watson
Susan Hatler's Contemporaries (she has a free one right now on Amazon called Truth or Date)
Oh, you're feeding my beast:)
DeleteI'm horrible at grabbing up freebies--usually for my NOOK, but I grab some Kindle ones, too, if they're not available on BN. I couldn't even tell you how many I have waiting to be read; hundreds, at least. ;)
ReplyDeleteBut really, how can you resist a free book? Some, I'll admit, may turn out to be duds, but I've found a lot of good ones, or ones I've been wanting to try! Win-win!
Enjoy!
TBQ
See! It's the idea of finding those real gems that keeps me justifying the free downloads:)
DeleteI know that I have a lot of freebies. I had them all tagged at one point and then just merged everything together. I had to unsubscribe from some of the newsletters because I was downloading books that I may never get to.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read that many of my freebies but I know that one day I will get to them! One day. :)
I have hundreds of freebies on my Kindle. I don't know if I'll even get to half of them in these life, lol. I used to also visit Amazon daily, downloading as many as I could. But I have become a bit pickier, and only add 1-2 a week ;) I did just read a freebie the other day and was pleasantly surprised, Lie to Me by Suzanne Brahm. I will definitely add her to my list of author's I enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI still need to get to The Wild One. Have you read the rest of the series, Jonetta?