Numerous books are free on Kindle; however, some of them are so bad, the authors should be paying you to read them. As the old adage goes, you get what you pay for. That said, there are some no-cost eBooks that are actually worth a look. You just have to understand a few concepts.

Think About Paying

There are some great new books available right now, and they all have one thing in common: they cost money. Let’s face it, there’s a reason why many books are free on Kindle. A lot of these contain grammatical and punctuation errors; the stories are convoluted; the characters are cardboard; the dialog is corny or unrealistic. Why? Many people are surprised to learn that most no-cost eBooks are self-published. This means they weren’t edited or endorsed by any publisher. Instead, they were simply uploaded to Amazon by amateur authors, who are merely trying to make a name for themselves.

Try the Public Domain

Although most no-cost eBooks tend to disappoint, there are some exceptions. Typically, these are found in the public domain. You see, after a certain number of years, an author’s copyright expires. This means publishers, such as Amazon, have the right to sell the author’s novel at no cost. Obviously, only older books will fit this profile; however, there are numerous classics that can provide hours of tear-jerking and pulse-pounding entertainment to readers who simply don’t want to pay for quality modern literature.

Beware the Most Popular Lists

Amazon has an updated list telling readers what books are free on Kindle. It also has a page that ranks the most downloaded no-cost novels. Unfortunately, this list tends to be misleading, because it perpetuates downloads. For instance, when a reader sees that one book ranks first on this list, he or she automatically thinks it must be a quality read. So because the eBook ranks number one on the list, the reader downloads it, which effectively keeps it at the top of the list. In the end, the novel doesn’t remain at the top of the list because it’s any good; it does so, because it’s at the top of the list.

Ultimately, many readers who get sucked into this cycle inevitably decide to pay a few dollars for a good, reputable book. After all, we are all very busy, and no one likes to invest in a new story only to end up quitting halfway through due to poor quality. That said, if you are interested in some quality free public domain Kindle books, here’s a list of the top 30.