Free online reading - madness or genius?

I would imagine most authors and indie publishers constantly seek new ways to promote their work and find new readers.
Self-promotion for today's writer is a way of life. And being discovered, is like the well-worn cliche "finding a needle in a haystack".
As authors, we are confident that, if reader's will simply read one of our works, they'll be persuaded to plonk down their cash and buy more.
But there are millions of books competing for the same eyeballs and it's a buyer's market out there.
I continue to search for new ways to get my books and stories read.
In my internet travels, I came across Canadian author, Corey Doctorow, who's long been a champion of giving away ebook copies of his work. In fact, he encourages readers to copy and distribute them and maintains the practice has encouraged a huge spike in the sales of printed copies of the same works.
I do not (yet) offer printed versions of my indie-published work but figured why not offer something similar - allow readers to read online for free and if they wanted a copy of their own, or preferred the convenience of reading on a mobile device, give them the opportunity to purchase the work at a nominal rate.
I've put this facility in place on my website ( http://www.hiltonhamann.com ) and will see how this pans out.
We are always advised to "think outside the box" but the internet has effectively "destroyed the box". Letting readers read books, for free, in the hope they will then buy them, would be considered madness in the mainstream publishing world and maybe it's the same online.
Heck, I don't know! Time will tell and I'll keep you updated.