diff --git a/src/calibre/ebooks/lrf/html/convert_from.py b/src/calibre/ebooks/lrf/html/convert_from.py
index ab8550bd5e..e884ea7213 100644
--- a/src/calibre/ebooks/lrf/html/convert_from.py
+++ b/src/calibre/ebooks/lrf/html/convert_from.py
@@ -580,20 +580,20 @@ class HTMLConverter(object, LoggingInterface):
         if (css.has_key('display') and css['display'].lower() == 'none') or \
            (css.has_key('visibility') and css['visibility'].lower() == 'hidden'):
             return ''
-        text = u''
+        text, alt_text = u'', u''
         for c in tag.contents:
             if limit != None and len(text) > limit:
                 break
             if isinstance(c, HTMLConverter.IGNORED_TAGS):
-                return u''
+                continue
             if isinstance(c, NavigableString):
                 text += unicode(c)                
             elif isinstance(c, Tag):
                 if c.name.lower() == 'img' and c.has_key('alt'):
-                    text += c['alt']
-                    return text
+                    alt_text += c['alt']
+                    continue
                 text += self.get_text(c)
-        return text
+        return text if text.strip() else alt_text
     
     def process_links(self):
         def add_toc_entry(text, target):