# Kindle Freebies at Amazon - Caveat Emptor: Know Before You Download



## ClickNextPage (Oct 15, 2009)

I've downloaded about six or eight freebies from Amazon, recent releases which were or are on the Kindle bestseller pages. Mostly I wasn't familiar with the authors and based my decision to download on high numbers of positive reader reviews. Mostly I have been disappointed. In addition to Christian fiction not being my thing, they were all poorly written in one manner or another.

I found it annoying that the books were not advertised as what they are: Christian fiction of one variety or another. Had I known, I wouldn't have downloaded. I am so happy that the new Kindle software lets us delete from our archives!!!

If this bothers you as well, here's what to look for:  if the word "faith" appears anywhere in the publisher's notes, that's your hint. Read several of the one and two star reviews; readers often complain about the product not being clearly labeled by this genre. Check customer tags. Usually someone will have tagged the book as Christian fiction. 

Do a Google search on the publisher. It will be very obvious, especially if the publisher advertises itself primarily as a bible publishing house. Some of them publish Christian fiction on the side. Also, I was looking at another freebie today, when I discovered that the publisher does mainly romance and erotica. Not my thing. I now have that publisher's name on my list of downloads to avoid.

Finally, basing your decision to download on a large number of positive reviews can be misleading.  Read some of the negative reviews, also. You may find that the ones doing the negative reviews have higher standards.


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## Malweth (Oct 18, 2009)

ClickNextPage said:


> Finally, basing your decision to download on a large number of positive reviews can be misleading. Read some of the negative reviews, also. You may find that the ones doing the negative reviews have higher standards.


This is the method I use when buying ANYTHING!! The chaff is usually found in 5-star and 1-star reviews. I also look for anything over a few sentences and any review with 2+ comments.


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## tlshaw (Nov 10, 2008)

I understand you may be wary of unfamiliar titles and authors, but I see the freebies as a way of exploring new genres that I have never tried. Granted, there are some I have passed up when I knew for sure it was out of my league. But, overall, I have greatly expanded my horizons. I have even gotten caught up in some series, because the first one was offered free. I have also discovered some great authors who are members here at KB!

As far as poor formatting, I have not found much of that, only in a very few rare instances. For the most part, I have had good luck with the quality of freebies I have gotten. And, there have been a few that I have deleted after I read or not even finished. But, from my point of view, I have not wasted money, and just lost a little time.

Since the freebies sometimes only last a short time, I try to snatch up as soon as I see them, but you could try downloading a sample to check out first.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

<shrug> it's free. I'm probably willing to take a chance. If I don't like it, I delete it. Doesn't bother me much.

Actually, I can usually tell by reading the 'blurb' a bit about the genre even if it doesn't flat out say "mystery" or "romance" or "Christian fiction".

Some people really like the Christian fiction. Some people really like the Vampire and Zombie stuff that seemed to be all that came up free last summer and fall. This month 'self help' seems to be the thing. I guess 'cause it's new year's. 

And, actually, if you watch Sporadic's thread on the top of the Book Bazaar, he notes the genre of the books as he posts them.

But, yeah, "buyer beware" is true for pretty much anything. . . . . .


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## akagriff (Sep 8, 2009)

I'm just truly baffled.  Why is this an issue?  Amazon isn't automatically uploading books to your Kindle.  You made the decision.  If you don't like the books and are leery about the content, maybe you should just stick to purchasing books that you want to read.


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## Rasputina (May 6, 2009)

I agree with the OP. I'm selective in what I buy even if it's free. I like to be organized and I don't want to scroll past a bunch of crap in my archives just because it was free. At least now we can finally permanently delete books.


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## cheerio (May 16, 2009)

I cant complain with FREE


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## Pawz4me (Feb 14, 2009)

akagriff said:


> I'm just truly baffled. Why is this an issue? Amazon isn't automatically uploading books to your Kindle. You made the decision.


Ditto.


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## austenfiend (Nov 17, 2009)

There have been some books that I have been disappointed in, but as they were free I couldn't complain too much.  Conversely, there have been a couple that I have enjoyed and have ended up buying the next book (if it's a series), or another book by the same author.  I just look at it as broadening my horizons.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

One thing that I check for is the "free book" that is actually a free sample.  I've seen several books where you're encouraged to think you are getting a book for free, when it is actually just an introduction and first chapter.  This is most common with business books.

For any of these situations (undesirable genre that wasn't made clear, awful formatting, whatever) I don't think it is the end of the world, since you can delete books.  But I'd agree it is better not to download at all than to load something you're very sure you'll be unhappy with.  I still hope people take a chance on downloading free things that they think they might like, though!


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I'd be more worried about books that -try- to pull the wool over your eyes than ones that really aren't trying to fool you and you just downloaded without really looking into it much.  Stuff like The Golden Compass for instance.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I have downloaded freebies that later disappointed me but I still look over all freebies before one-clicking them.  I have been duped a few times by books that turned out to be just introductions and that annoys me .... the others I usually don't sweat though ...


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

If the freebie doesn't have a bunch of positive reviews already, I usually wait until it gets more reviews or KBers mention liking it before I start reading it.  I've read a couple that I really didn't enjoy, but that's how it goes.  There's no guarantee that any book--even one I pay for--is going to be a good read.

N


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## marianneg (Nov 4, 2008)

So, the description mentions the characters' faith, most of them are classified under Religion/Spirituality -> Christianity, and both tags and reviews say they are "Christian fiction."  I really don't see the problem here.  I'm sorry that the existence of these books offends your delicate sensibilities.


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## Malweth (Oct 18, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> I'd be more worried about books that -try- to pull the wool over your eyes than ones that really aren't trying to fool you and you just downloaded without really looking into it much. Stuff like The Golden Compass for instance.


??!
I don't see "The Golden Compass" as trying to pull the wool over your eyes about anything. The anti-religion aspect of these books is highly overstated. In F&SF, the remapping of Angels and Demons to some other purpose and with some other meaning is par for the course.


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## kevindorsey (Mar 4, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> I have downloaded freebies that later disappointed me but I still look over all freebies before one-clicking them. I have been duped a few times by books that turned out to be just introductions and that annoys me .... the others I usually don't sweat though ...


LOL, ain't that the truth. You got to "scout" the freebies, and if they suck, just delete them quickly. Only time is lost.


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## cheerio (May 16, 2009)

kevindorsey said:


> LOL, ain't that the truth. You got to "scout" the freebies, and if they suck, just delete them quickly. Only time is lost.


so true


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## esper_d (May 2, 2009)

akagriff said:


> I'm just truly baffled. Why is this an issue? Amazon isn't automatically uploading books to your Kindle. You made the decision. If you don't like the books and are leery about the content, maybe you should just stick to purchasing books that you want to read.


I got to agree with you.


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

Malweth said:


> ??!
> I don't see "The Golden Compass" as trying to pull the wool over your eyes about anything. The anti-religion aspect of these books is highly overstated. In F&SF, the remapping of Angels and Demons to some other purpose and with some other meaning is par for the course.


Yes, but most F&SF isn't directed at childern. (Sorry, I realize this isn't a Golden Compass review).


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## Malweth (Oct 18, 2009)

FearNot said:


> Yes, but most F&SF isn't directed at childern. (Sorry, I realize this isn't a Golden Compass review).


This is understandable, but by "children," these books aren't anything younger than YA... and, having read them, I'd say High School. The age of the characters isn't enough to place the book in the "youth" age range. I realize the books have been taken as "childrens'," but they shouldn't be.

On the other hand, it's hardly "pulling the wool over one's eyes" any more than Christian allusion and allegory present in many books (for many age ranges) written in America & Europe. It just happens to be a less popular viewpoint.

More on topic... I'd be more concerned with writing quality and style than religious slant. I'm not going to reject _The Grapes of Wrath_ for being Christian any more than _The Golden Compass_ for being anti-Christian, but if the former was written like the books described in the OP I doubt high-schoolers would be reading it; if the latter didn't have its slant, it wouldn't be as notable. (Note that I'm not comparing these two books aside from their religious content)!


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## Free books for Kindle (Jan 8, 2010)

I'm not a Christian - but I wouldn't discount fiction with a strong Christian theme. The Shack was a good read as too are most of C.S. Lewis' output - and I don't just mean Narnia (The Screwtape letters are a scream).  Equally - I'll enjoy books like The last temptation of Christ or The Golden Compass for what they are - cracking good reads.  And I read Starship Troopers when I was 10 - and saw it for what it was a satire rather than a celebration of fascism. 

There are some poor Christian-themed books out there. Often it is because they collapse under the weight of the theme rather than either properly incorporate it into the story or leave it as incidental. On the other hand - I also have to recognise that it's not a sub-culture I'm fully familiar with (I'm sure some Christians wouldn't find the references overwhelming - they may even appreciate them). 

Authors of Christian themed books are not the only ones to suffer under the weight of an overt or hidden agenda - Michael Crichton's climate change thriller, State of Fear is appallingly bad in this respect. 

I tend to grab most of the promoted freebies (romance and erotica aside - really not my thing) as it takes seconds to get them and you never know if you'll want to read them later and it's not like you're having to carry them home/pay for them. 

If there are lots of Christian freebies - perhaps it is because they are more generous?


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

greencat said:


> If there are lots of Christian freebies - perhaps it is because they are more generous?


More like they have more titles to offer; they can give away a few for free, hoping to lure in new readers to their fiction line, and increase their overall sales and profit. Or maybe it _is_ an insidious plot to alter the minds of godless heathens through mediocre and middle-list fiction freebies. I wish it were a bumbling plot, if only for the opportunity to laugh at them, but my best guess is that their motives are pure business related.

That said, I have no interest in Christian Fiction and have noticed a curious influx being offered for free, but, again, that is probably due to the publisher's catching on to the growth of ebook business and trying to cash in.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

There have a been a lot of titles lately that could be labeled "Christian Fiction".  And the ones that came up at the start of the year were almost all self-help books.  But last summer and fall, all the freebies seemed to be paranormal/vampire/zombie/ romance or horror titles.  

Enlightened publishers   know that offering a couple of free titles is a great way to find new readers.  There have been several more mainstream series that, when the 'next in the series' was due to come out, they released the first in the series for free.  Or, they say, buy the new one and get the first one free. . .there's a set like that in the Bargain thread right now. 

So, I've picked up most of the freebies. . . .some I read and say, "well, now I've read that and don't need to read any more" and some I read and say "where have these been all my life?"  So I've found some new series/authors that I probably otherwise would never have tried because I didn't really think I'd like 'em.

I know. . . .I'm completely falling into their traps!


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Seems like the same rant could be made about the ubiquitous romance novel giveaways, which makes this seem more like a "they are giving away books I don't agree with and I wish they would stop" kind of thing. Which would kinda be like censorship, wouldn't it?


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## Malweth (Oct 18, 2009)

Chad Winters (#102) said:


> Seems like the same rant could be made about the ubiquitous romance novel giveaways, which makes this seem more like a "they are giving away books I don't agree and I wish they would stop" kind of thing. Which would kinda be like censorship, wouldn't it?


That's exactly it! Who cares what's free... just don't "buy" it if you're not interested. The only problem is the glut.
It'd be nice if we didn't have to turn to 3rd party tools (I've seen them posted around here) to search for the books we want. Amazon's searching and sorting is pretty limited. The top-books lists are practically useless.


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