>>> Even if they're free they still cost your time. This. Free books are very far from being actually free. Reading a book can take anywhere between 15 to 50

>>> Even if they're free they still cost your time. This. Free books are very far from being actually free. Reading a book can take anywhere between 15 to 50 hours or more. So the cost of the book itself often is a small share of the cost of reading a book. Of course, free books are important because they are more accessible to people who can't pay for some reason (teenagers, students, people from poor countries). It's just that 'free' shouldn't be part of the equation, if you can afford to pay $20 or $50 for a book.