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AIBU?

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Original poster

to give up on free kindle books

36 replies

LoopyLoopsCorgiPoops · 05/06/2012 00:14

I have just given up on my third unreadable free kindle book. This one has the most ridiculous errors - not spelling mistakes as such, but all kinds of incorrect homophones, eg. 'bad manors', 'thread bear' and 'head over heals'. I despair. Is it just that every novel ever written is now accessible and free on the kindle, even those that have never been proof read?

The first free book I got for the kindle was absolutely brilliant, so I'm reluctant to give up on them completely, and I hate spending money on books (especially ones that aren't even real), but I cannot bear/bare/bair Wink this irritation. How do you choose books for your kindle? In the (real life) library I usually go in with too many kids and grab loads of the 'popular reads', take them home then pick a few from the blurbs. This is much harder on the kindle. How to separate the wheat from the chaff?

OP posts:
habbibu · 05/06/2012 00:22

Loads of classics available free on the Kindle - work your way through any you haven't read.

Devora · 05/06/2012 00:26

I don't really bother with the free books - life's too short for that kind of 'bargain'. Think of all the brilliant books you're missing out on! But yes, if I am ordering free books I tend to get the classics that I haven't got round to yet.

Kindle are doing some partnership with Waterstones, so soon you'll be able to go into Waterstones and have a look at the books before ordering download to your kindle. It won't be free, though.

FiftyShadesofViper · 05/06/2012 00:27

SIL was telling me exactly the same thing earlier this week.

LadySybildeChocolate · 05/06/2012 00:31

IME, most free kindle books are not worth reading. It's likely that they would have been self published and would have been self edited. Writers do this because they want people to buy their future work, it doesn't necessarily mean that they know how to edit. It's expensive to have this done by a private editor, around £400. I'm sure that there's a lot of great books out there, it's often a case of looking through them all though.

cantspel · 05/06/2012 00:32

still plenty of decent free books for kindles and if you do pick a dud just delete it.
I tend to check everyday for freebies as some will only be free for a day or so before going on to payable.

mumeeee · 05/06/2012 00:32

I've read a couple of clasics on the kindle they were free and no errors. I've also read a couple of crime fiction books that were also free, You can look on the kindle store ans search free books, There's usually a bit of information about each book and you can often download a sample to try before getting the whole book,

PomBearWithAnOFRS · 05/06/2012 00:33

I've found some brilliant books free or dirt cheap on the Kindle. Admittedly some are utter tripe, but there are some hidden gems out there. What do you like?
I read mostly sci-fi and fantasy/paranormal books and have found some great new authors on Kindle.

cantspel · 05/06/2012 00:40

If you checkout the discussion forum you will find a few regular posters who post a list of any new freebies. Just takes a few minutes to go through the list to see if anything interesting is there.

Original poster
LoopyLoopsCorgiPoops · 05/06/2012 00:50

Which discussion forum cantspel?

OP posts:
Original poster
LoopyLoopsCorgiPoops · 05/06/2012 01:00

thank you :)

OP posts:
careergirl · 05/06/2012 01:26

I have had some fantastic free books for kindle

Flossyfloof · 05/06/2012 07:11

I think it's very exciting when you first realise that with one click you can get a free book. I was advised to get everything and delete later. Like you, I have had some real duds and mistakenly paid for a couple also. I am much more discerning now - do you get the daily email? I read the blurb and reviews more carefully, and tend to stick to English authors (that is probably just my prejudice though!). Don't give up just yet...

CarpeJugulum · 05/06/2012 07:14

Try looking here for a list of free books on Amazon.

redyam · 05/06/2012 07:19

Stop being such a cheapskate and spend a bit of money on a book. Even if it's just a few quid, the quality can improve massively. Of course there are exceptions and you need to do some research, but you get what you pay for.

SoupDragon · 05/06/2012 07:20

I"ve had some great freebies. I use the discussion forum on Amazon and look at any that take my fancy. If I'm in doubt, I look at the price before it was free. If it was very cheap I'll probably give it a miss but if it had a "proper" book price I'm more likely to give it a chance. That said, I've had some great "cheap" freebies IYSWIM!

gamerwidow · 05/06/2012 07:22

This is why I advise people to get any ereader other than a Kindle. Amazons locked format means that you can't just borrow ebooks from your local library for free like you can with other ereaders.

vj32 · 05/06/2012 07:23

DH gets free classics and then sometimes the deal of the day for 99p. I think the only full price books he has downloaded were for me!

Have you got your free trials of newspapers too? 2 weeks free of all the national (and some international) newspapers.

SpagboLagain · 05/06/2012 07:30

I go to the bookshop / read the book section in Sunday times, and ask friends what they have been reading. I don't have time to be sorting through rubbish. I also use the most popular section on kindle.

I sometimes search by authors that I like, but that has caught me out. Who knew there were 2 Robert Harrises writing books? I can confirm that one of them writes rubbish with appalling grammar (in my opinion of course). I felt a little misled.

WandaDoff · 05/06/2012 07:36

May I suggest Calibre

Works wonderfully for me.

NineteenForever · 05/06/2012 10:14

Totally agree with the OP re the quality of free books! That said, I choose books by three methods; reading the kindle reviews / blurb on the most popular lists, asking friends what they have read and getting the samples via the kindle (free excerpt which is fab) and reading book reviews in the papers/magazines and getting the free samples. I do this last one, as soon as i can and hold it on the kindle for next time I'm looking for something to read; then I dont forget the name of the book or the author. Have found some great reads through 'book review of the year' sections in magazines and newspapers (eg Me before You, and Before I go to Sleep)

PooshTun · 05/06/2012 10:21

I'm obviously not including free 'classics' in this but there is a reason why these books are free.

HeathRobinson · 05/06/2012 10:27

Agree with PomBear. I've had some fantastic free reads on the kindle.

Any recommendations, Pombear? I seem to read similar stuff to you.

Last night I downloaded about 12 free books that I thought were 'possibilities'. I haven't looked at them yet, but I expect at least 1 or 2 will be really good, with some so-sos and cba to finish and some where it's really not my cup of tea, despite the blurb sounding interesting.

I don't expect them all to be good reads, but they're free, so worth giving a go.

valiumredhead · 05/06/2012 10:28

Even the books you pay for can have really shocking mistakes.

SoupDragon · 05/06/2012 10:49

I like the free books as "fill in" reads.

One, Brand Loyalty, was a great idea but the writing let it down. However, it was quite thought provoking if you followed the thought process behind the plot. Kind of 1984 but updated. I wouldn't have wanted to pay for it particularly but as a free book it was an interesting read.