Living Car Free - Book Free - online reading links

I'd like to share a really cool writer I just found - Lewis Shiner- I read his novel Black & White online TOTALLY FREE...it's published and you can go buy it if you want but in sticking with the "simple living" theme I chose to read it online.

here's the link:http://www.lewisshiner.com/liberation/index.htm

Are there more sites out there that you let you read books for free? do you guys have a "master list" of them? has this been asked before? sorry if I'm rehashing an old subject but I'm just getting to a point in my life were I'm culling out the excess and I was excited :o)

by the way....anyone know about the impending "bag tax" ? I'm in florida and when we shopped at target the other day the lady gave us paper bags and boxes....no plastic.....then she quickly mentioned they are phasing out plastic because of the coming bag tax. I got online and did some reading and yes i guess there IS a bag tax coming. Retail wants to encourage the use of reusable bags....I use them the majority of the time ( i just keep ONE in my mess bag all the time) and I've noticed more people doing the same.

Anyone live in a area where this has already occured?

Be safe out there !
Lofi

If you want Science Fiction:

http://www.baen.com/library/

115 fairly new titles there from current authors and they don't charge one thin dime for it. :D It's also 100% legal....the publisher and authors operate the site.

http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/ is composed almost entirely of books which have an expired copyright, and so are in public domain. Some were originally published under a variant of the GNU license, but all are free and legal to use.

Google Books.

If it's the bible you want to read:
http://www.biblegateway.com
... even has it in Haitian Creole.

If you want Science Fiction:

http://www.baen.com/library/

115 fairly new titles there from current authors and they don't charge one thin dime for it. :D It's also 100% legal....the publisher and authors operate the site.

Another good one for SciFi, if you like your SciFi weird, is http://craphound.com/

I highly recommend the Earthbound series, beautiful stories, beautifully written, available free here: http://www.virtualimprint.com/earthbound/download.htm

And of course, www.gutenberg.net is the best place to go for old books.

I download TXT files and read them on my Windows Mobile phone.

As for plastic bags... they're not taxed here, yet, but the supermarkets don't offer them, you have to ask if you want them. Instead, they sell "bags for life", and you get extra points on your loyalty card for reusing them.

Don't forget your public library!

Our library system offers NetLibrary (http://company.netlibrary.com/Products.aspx) downloadable eBooks.

Remember too that audio books can be downloaded from your public library for free.

The only caveat, of course, is that your library system needs to offer these services, and you need a library card.

Oh, and don't forget--we still have the old-school ink-on-dead-tree versions too. Still for free.

I'm all for phasing out those plastic bags. They're ubiquitous here. You see them all over the streets, on the roads and highways, in the rivers and streams, in the sea, stuck in trees, on fences, clogging up drains... The politicians keep saying they're going to put a tax on them or require shops to charge for them, but then the lobbyists do their thing and those plans are put on the back burner. Plastic soft drink bottles are another big problem.

http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/ is composed almost entirely of books which have an expired copyright, and so are in public domain. Some were originally published under a variant of the GNU license, but all are free and legal to use.
I've tried many times to read some of these Project Gutenberg editions. I remember trying to read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and even Ulysses... but I found I could never get into reading them on a computer. But the dead-tree version still seems to work for me.

Am I just getting too old? :)

I've tried many times to read some of these Project Gutenberg editions. I remember trying to read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and even Ulysses... but I found I could never get into reading them on a computer. But the dead-tree version still seems to work for me.

Am I just getting too old? :)

Yep...just like me:lol: I have fits trying to bookmark an electronic page with an old gum wrapper:p

Aaron:)

I tried a few years ago when I first heard about Project Gutenberg, but like you, I couldn't read a book on a computer. I can read a forum for hours at a time, but not a book... I rediscovered it when I got a phone with a big enough, clear enough screen, small enough to fit in my hand, capable of reading TXT files. Even then, I didn't think the screen would be good enough, and I only tried it when I found that the very cheap book I was reading was misprinted - an entire chapter was missing. I located the book on Project Gutenberg, with the intention of reading just that one chapter then going back to the dead tree - but I didn't go back.

If you want Science Fiction:

http://www.baen.com/library/

115 fairly new titles there from current authors and they don't charge one thin dime for it. :D It's also 100% legal....the publisher and authors operate the site.

Along those lines. If you want some for your iPod this is a fantastic series of short stories.


I have found something wonderful.
These are the short stories of Jeffrey R. DeRego from two short story pod casts.
The series is called "Union Dues".
They are spectacularly good and belong on your iPod.

Enjoy.

Union Dues #1 - "Iron Bars and the Glass Jaw" Read by Jonathon Sullivan (http://cdn4.libsyn.com/escapepod/EP027_GlassJaw.mp3?nvb=20090127052856&nva=20090128053856&t=024d14c73f0fc1cd53ed6)

Union Dues #2 - "Off White Lies" Read by Scott Sigler (http://cdn1.libsyn.com/escapepod/EP049_OffWhiteLies.mp3?nvb=20090127032538&nva=20090128033538&t=0e8c4ed009a3497fc72b3)

Union Dues #2 - "The Baby and the Bathwater" Read by Mur Lafferty (http://cdn2.libsyn.com/escapepod/EP062_BabyAndTheBathwater.mp3?nvb=20090127032900&nva=20090128033900&t=03f037e75686797f8428b)

Union Dues #4 - "Cleanup in Aisle Five" Read by Rich Sigfrit (http://cdn3.libsyn.com/escapepod/EP080_CleanupInAisleFive.mp3?nvb=20090127033038&nva=20090128034038&t=04109f35dab36124dbc01)

Union Dues #5 - "Send in the Clowns" Read by Dani Cutler (http://cdn3.libsyn.com/escapepod/EP128_SendInTheClowns.mp3?nvb=20090127033227&nva=20090128034227&t=07f8996bfab0ea3e87354)

Union Dues #6 - "All That We Leave Behind" Read by Stephen Eley (http://cdn2.libsyn.com/escapepod/EP149_AllThatWeLeaveBehind.mp3?nvb=20090127033427&nva=20090128034427&t=0960fdb0af1cebfafc5dd)

Union Dues #7- "Freedom With a Small f" Read by Nuri (http://cdn1.libsyn.com/escapepod/EP154_FreedomWithASmallf.mp3?nvb=20090127033625&nva=20090128034625&t=0199b416e1905b50c51fd)

Union Dues #8 - "Tabula Rasa" Read by Stephen Eley (http://cdn2.libsyn.com/escapepod/EP172_UnionDues_TabulaRasa.mp3?nvb=20090127033815&nva=20090128034815&t=0452a6ca2a19866a4eb65)

Union Dues #9 - "Team Shikaragaki - The Ballad of Kitty Momoiro" Read by Abby Kim (http://cdn2.libsyn.com/clonepod2/ep11_Ballad_of_Kitty.mp3?nvb=20090127034037&nva=20090128035037&t=0ab74dc8a48a71c5735ee)

Union Dues #10 - "The Saga of Tam Suji" Read by Zach Friedman (http://cdn4.libsyn.com/clonepod2/ep16_union_dues.mp3?nvb=20090127034239&nva=20090128035239&t=08d5769a52131aae90bf7)

Union Dues #11 "The Sojourn of Taizen Kiro" Read by Leslie Ann Moore (http://cdn3.libsyn.com/clonepod2/ep22_The_Sojourn_Of_Taizen_Kiro.mp3?nvb=20090127034411&nva=20090128035411&t=0e4f8328b3d59d07d364e)

Union Dues #12 - "All About the Sponsors" Read by Stephen Eley (http://cdn2.libsyn.com/escapepod/EP185_UD_AllAboutTheSponsors.mp3?nvb=20090127034539&nva=20090128035539&t=0f99ed9ca0a3c530c52f0)

thx for all the links :o)

I tried a few years ago when I first heard about Project Gutenberg, but like you, I couldn't read a book on a computer. I can read a forum for hours at a time, but not a book... I rediscovered it when I got a phone with a big enough, clear enough screen, small enough to fit in my hand, capable of reading TXT files. Even then, I didn't think the screen would be good enough, and I only tried it when I found that the very cheap book I was reading was misprinted - an entire chapter was missing. I located the book on Project Gutenberg, with the intention of reading just that one chapter then going back to the dead tree - but I didn't go back.
Good point. Maybe it's just the size of the type. In easy-to-read formats, the length of a line is important. For example, text that you might read quickly is often less than 3 inches wide... like your newspaper. Most books never have line length over 4 inches. When they do, the book tends to be hard to read... you have to struggle to get to the end of the line.

As well as line length, inter-line spacing can make text easy or hard to read.

So maybe there's an optimal line length and spacing that work in electronic format. Maybe the cell phone display is it.

Yep...just like me:lol: I have fits trying to bookmark an electronic page with an old gum wrapper:p

Aaron:)
Sometimes I just use the gum, if I can't find the wrapper.

If I read a lot, I'd get a Kindle before bothering to use my iPhone or a laptop. A couple guys at work have them, and I'm impressed. Its "electronic ink" is truly slick, looking almost like paper while allowing huge amounts of battery life and not causing eyestrain.

About bags -- I get about three of those little plastic bags a week. That's because when I keep using the cotton shopping bag I got from my sister, I don't end up with extra small bags for garbage.

Don't forget your public library!

Our library system offers NetLibrary (http://company.netlibrary.com/Products.aspx) downloadable eBooks.

Remember too that audio books can be downloaded from your public library for free.

The only caveat, of course, is that your library system needs to offer these services, and you need a library card.

Oh, and don't forget--we still have the old-school ink-on-dead-tree versions too. Still for free.

+10

Right now I have a number of books, 5 DVDs and an audio book on loan from my local library. I like the library because they have a different variety of DVDs than are found in video stores. Not just the heavily pushed new releases. Right now I enjoying "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" who was Disney's star before Mickey, and a Romanian film "Kontroll", about ticket checkers on the Budapest subway and easily a classic up there with "Reservoir Dogs".

On my honeymoon, I discovered that my bride did not have a library card and I threatened to annul the marriage, as I would not be married to a woman without a library card!

And I give back. I discovered that in my travels, I had bought two copies of two books on computer animation. I donated them to the library, specifically asking them to include them in the collection. Now I get a cool feeling when I go to visit them in the stacks, and an even better one when they are not there. :D

I've tried many times to read some of these Project Gutenberg editions. I remember trying to read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and even Ulysses... but I found I could never get into reading them on a computer. But the dead-tree version still seems to work for me.

Am I just getting too old? :)
No, I've had to delve into E-book readers for work. I've read short books from gutenberg on the computer but not a longer one. So I downloaded some books and began reading and testing the features. I found the e-book reader worked better than the computer screen. Newsweek recommended "Kim" by Rudyard Kipling recently as a way to understand our current quagmire. So I read that one. The reading wasn't bad but I think Newsweek is wrong. "Fire in the Lake" is a better book for understanding what's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. Anyway the e-book readers are better than computers but not as good as paper. You still can't flip the pages on an e-book reader like you can with a real book.

by the way....anyone know about the impending "bag tax" ? I'm in florida and when we shopped at target the other day the lady gave us paper bags and boxes....no plastic.....then she quickly mentioned they are phasing out plastic because of the coming bag tax. I got online and did some reading and yes i guess there IS a bag tax coming. Retail wants to encourage the use of reusable bags....I use them the majority of the time ( i just keep ONE in my mess bag all the time) and I've noticed more people doing the same.

Anyone live in a area where this has already occured?

Toronto has a $0.05 bag tax and most stores here in Guelph chrage $0.05 per bag. I definitely notice a lot of people using reusable bags. However, it seems to me I read an article somewhere (I can't seem to find it) that pointed out that some reusable bags are hardly better for the environment. You have to use to 100's of times to offset the manufacturing waste vs. the plastic bags. Seemed to me it was a bit of stretch but the argument is out there.

Personally I use my XL Timbuk2 and a couple of canvas bags. It surprises me how many groceries you can get in those bags!

Pretty much anything that's in public domain can be read online. Lots of old novels, plays, philosophy writings, religious texts, historical documents, etc. If it's not in public domain, then time to go to the library.

http://www.unshelved.com/strips/20090803.gif (http://www.unshelved.com/archive.aspx?strip=20090803)

For some laughs, see Nicholson Baker's review of the Kindle in The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/03/090803fa_fact_baker). I love the way that man writes.

I've seen that sort of device at Borders. Not sure if it's the kindle, but same basic thing. At first I thought it seemed like a cool idea, but after trying the floor model I felt like I'd rather read old fashion paper books.

I've tried many times to read some of these Project Gutenberg editions. I remember trying to read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and even Ulysses... but I found I could never get into reading them on a computer. But the dead-tree version still seems to work for me.

Am I just getting too old? :)

No, I had the same problem until I got a Sony eBook reader.

No, I had the same problem until I got a Sony eBook reader.

I notice Sony's newest ebook reader has a built in dictionary. But the article tsl linked to points out the shortcomings. I didn't think about it but sometimes the font is important as are the illustrations so you want something that displays plain pdf files.

I can't even imagine reading a book on my cell phone. With my bifocals, I can barely read text messages. :)