# A book suggestion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [April 28, 2021, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990 "2021-04-28T21:53:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/21 "2021-05-03T18:36:10Z")
The Pen is Mightier is a slightly satirical fantasy, also an homage to Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. Looking back, perhaps I should have picked a different title… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/22 "2021-05-03T20:45:25Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Here’s the link that at least works for the US Amazon store. It goes to the Kindle version, but I think it’s easy to click over to paperback. [https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07HVWCFFJ](https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07HVWCFFJ) I acknowledge that this is a personal annoyance for me. I don’t like the way Amazon tries to steer you towards the products it wants to sell ahead of the products you want to buy. But I’ll drop it before I go any further off topic. May I ask why you decided to switch from A.C.F. to Andy? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/23 "2021-05-03T21:01:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > May I ask why you decided to switch from A.C.F. to Andy? ACF are my first and middle initials – for some reason I thought that sounded better at first. Eventually I decided that was dumb (and I didn’t like people calling me “ACF”) and went back to Andy. No good reason to pick ACF, in other words. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/24 "2021-05-07T20:56:17Z")
What a fun book, Andy! I was actually gripped enough that I stayed up late to finish it, which is high praise from me. Hope to see more from you. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/25 "2021-05-07T20:57:30Z")
Fantastic! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It’s so gratifying to hear that people are enjoying what I put so much work into. And if it’s convenient, I’d be very grateful if you said so in an online review. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/27 "2021-05-12T14:49:17Z")
With all due respect, you could also consider paying the people who spent a lot of time creating the books you enjoy. At the very least, join a library so at least the authors get something for their work. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/28 "2021-05-12T15:10:11Z")
Amazon does offer a surprising list of free books to download if you’ve got a Kindle. They tend either to be old classics (lots of Dickens) or cheap trashy romance novels (usually involving a billionaire who falls for his maid, if the titles are anything to go by). Literally just go to the Amazon site and search for “free books”. But I suspect you will get what you pay for, in most of those cases. Have not tried “Spindown” yet. A friend of mine recently published their first sci-fi novel under a pseudonym and I’m still working my way through it slowly. The friend is normally quite a skilled writer in other genres (and has several other published books, plus a lot of ones ghostwritten for others) but…let’s just say sci-fi may not be their métier. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2021, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/29 "2021-05-12T15:47:07Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Amazon does offer a surprising list of free books to download if you’ve got a Kindle. They tend either to be old classics (lots of Dickens) or cheap trashy romance novels (usually involving a billionaire who falls for his maid, if the titles are anything to go by). A lot of detective / mystery / thriller novel series have the first of the series available for free on Amazon as well. It’s like a drug dealer offering the ‘first taste’ for free to get you hooked, to keep you coming back as a paying customer. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/30 "2021-05-15T05:59:37Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > With all due respect, you could also consider paying the people who spent a lot of time creating the books you enjoy. > > At the very least, join a library so at least the authors get something for their work. Was this in reply to someone in the thread? The author himself linked to Amazon so I assume he’s okay with whatever money he gets from that. I’ve bought thousands and thousands of books in my life and it never occurred to me to worry about what the author was paid. That’s between them and the publisher. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/31 "2021-05-15T10:47:18Z")
Pretty sure he was responding to a post that was deleted. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/32 "2021-05-15T14:42:55Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Amazon does offer a surprising list of free books to download if you’ve got a Kindle. They tend either to be old classics (lots of Dickens) or cheap trashy romance novels (usually involving a billionaire who falls for his maid, if the titles are anything to go by). Literally just go to the Amazon site and search for “free books”. But I suspect you will get what you pay for, in most of those cases. Anything written before 1926 is in the public domain (in the US), and such books often show up in numerous editions, including some free (and if you can’t find them free on Amazon, you can find them free elsewhere, like Project Gutenberg). The other freebies are mostly self-published (including, as you say, a lot of cheap trashy romance novels). Self-published doesn’t necessarily mean bad (_Spindown_ certainly isn’t), but the wheat-to-chaff ratio is much lower. I suspect the reason these books are free is to gain publicity: the author hopes you’ll like them enough to buy more of his/her work, and/or that you’ll leave a favorable review or tell your friends. Amazon has separate “best seller” lists for the Top Paid and Top Free Kindle books. > **[Amazon Best Sellers: Best Kindle Store](https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Kindle-Store/zgbs/digital-text)** > > Discover the best Kindle Store in Best Sellers. Find the top 100 most popular items in Amazon Kindle Store Best Sellers. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/33 "2021-05-15T14:54:21Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Pretty sure he was responding to a post that was deleted. You are correct. Someone asked where they could get all their books for free. That’ll teach me to not quote the post. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/34 "2021-05-15T16:56:37Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > You are correct. Someone asked where they could get all their books for free. > > That’ll teach me to not quote the post. Thanks, I couldn’t figure out what post you were responding to. I wasn’t aware a post had been deleted. Was it a spammer type post or a regular poster? BTW, @iiandyiiii I downloaded _Spindown_ and will be sure to leave a review for you. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/35 "2021-05-15T17:32:01Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Was it a spammer type post or a regular poster? It looked like a regular post, but maybe it was a sock or had other spam posts. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/36 "2021-05-15T17:41:03Z")
Wonderful! I hope you enjoy reading it! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2021, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/37 "2021-05-17T08:08:08Z")
Apologies for the confusion - yes, someone (in a now-vanished post) asked about getting free books and I was pointing out that there were actual free books on offer on Amazon, albeit either public domain material or of questionable quality. It was not a comment about “Spindown” or self-publishing in general. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/38 "2021-05-26T20:13:03Z")
Thanks to @mordecaiB for writing a very nice review on Amazon! I’m very glad you enjoyed the book! ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2021, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990/39 "2021-05-26T20:31:30Z")
No problem, it was seriously a good read. Please keep us informed of any future books you write. You faked me out a bit with the reverse Chekov’s gun thing. When the XO handed Bea his gun and took it right back I thought for sure a major character would end up dead with the gun with Bea’s prints on it laying next to the body. Instead you went the frame Konami route. Good move. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-book-suggestion/940990.md?page=1)