Here's one of our favorite guest bloggers, Gail Farrelly, to talk about one of her favorite perks of being a Kindle owner: the free e-books!

"The best things in life are free" is what the song says.  And for me, one of the best things about the Kindle is free books. The free books are available, not only to those who own the Kindle device, but also to those who've downloaded the free Kindle applications (for example, Kindle for PC), although Amazon does point out, "If you are a non-U.S. customer, book availability may vary."

Don't we all love bargains? And what could be a better bargain than a free book?  I hold free books to the same standard as any other book I read.  If I don't like them after about 50 pages, I stop reading.  In the case of being disappointed by a free book, I figure that it has cost me time, but it's nice to know that it hasn't cost me money too!  It's a good way to try a new author or genre. 

When Kensington offered "Death of a Trophy Wife" by Laura Levine free on the Kindle a while ago, it was  surprising, since it was a new hardback.  But I guess it was a good marketing technique.  It's a light, cozy mystery which I really enjoyed, and I've since purchased several of the earlier books in the series. 

I've noticed that a number of formerly free books then show up on the best-sellers "paid" list, so it seems that in these cases the publicity did exactly what it's supposed to do:  generate sales.  

The trick is that often the free offers are available for only a short time, so you have to move fast.  That makes it more fun though.  It's like being in a store when some terrific short-term specials are announced.  Although there are numerous ways to find out about the freebies, I think the best source of information is the Kindle Discussion Forum, where fans post the information. 

Or you may want to scroll down on the Amazon Kindle Books page.  On the right-hand side, there are links to:  Top 100 Paid Best-sellers, Top 100 Free Best-sellers, and "See all" (a comparison of the paid and unpaid "Top 100" lists).  There are some fun comparisons.  For example, right now, No. 6 on the paid list is "Private" by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro; No. 6 on the free list is Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."  

Another good page on Amazon is the list of resources for free books, which covers books from Amazon as well as from other sources

It's exciting that that the modern technique of e-publishing is leading to the downloading of so many classics. As of this writing, books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lewis Carroll, Jane Austen, and Robert Louis Stevenson are all in the "top 10" of the free downloads.  You go, guys!