google to offer novels for print

Grabmygoblin · Post by **Grabmygoblin** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 1:25 pm

you kids and your newfangled tv boxes...

Dburkhead · Post by **Dburkhead** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 4:20 pm

Seems a little behind the times, actually.

Project Gutenberg

Currently reading "The Count of Monte Christo" from Gutenberg

Grabmygoblin · Post by **Grabmygoblin** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 5:35 pm

I knew about the gutenburg project, but I thought you could only read the books, not download them. hooray!!

Dburkhead · Post by **Dburkhead** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:06 pm

Stuff on my Clie from Project Gutenberg:

Treasure Island
She
The Count of Monte Christo
The Three Musketeers
Twenty Years Later (sequel to TTM)
The Man in the Iron Mask (sequel to Twenty Years Later)
Common Sense
Democracy in America
Teh Age of Reason
The American Chrisis
The Rights of Man
(yes, that's a lot of Thomas Paine).

All downloaded as text, then quickly converted to ebook format using Mobipocket and uploaded to the Clie where, along with a couple hundred ebooks (some free downloads, some purchased). An entire library that fits, literally, in the palm of one hand. (I like my Clie.)

TRI · Post by **TRI** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 9:55 pm

You know... I like the whole idea of online libraries. Hundreds, thousands of books available anywhere, anytime. Instant access to the great works of fiction and . . . um . . . non-fiction.

But I still like my books in book-form. I'm just so much more comfortable reading off dead trees. It seems so much nicer to curl up in bed on a rainy morning with a book than with a . . . screen.

Also you get that new-book-smell.

Czar · Post by **Czar** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 12:12 pm

On the other hand, the thing with books, especially non-fiction ones you buy because of special interest (said the geek with a shelf stuffed with military history and technology) are expensive and the only quality control you can do on most of them prior to purchase is if (fingers crossed) they are availible in the library or accessible for a bit of browsing in the bookstore.
Should you rely on book clubs you are mostly dependant on whatever quality control the club does before taking up the book for sale, and the only clue as to whether you'll like it or not is the bookclubs review.

Anyway, I like the idea of online libraries, and at the same time I'll laugh at anyone that said that the dead-tree format is getting killed by them. Online books are great and good, but there's plenty of people who invest good money to get good, solid books.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 3:51 am

It's funny how information get progressively accesible. I remember the times when it was hard for me to find a decent book to read.

Chibiartstudios · Post by **Chibiartstudios** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:09 pm

Any classics of fiction one might recomend?

Mr.Bob · Post by **Mr.Bob** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 8:23 am

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G. K. Chesterton. And anything by H. G. Wells.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 4:30 pm

chibiartstudios wrote:Any classics of fiction one might recomend?

I'd reccomend Anthony Burgess book "English literature", I'm told that it's a great guide for those who want to start reading classics written in English.

But I personally would reccomend Joyce, Henry James, Gogol, Harms...

Mr.Bob · Post by **Mr.Bob** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 4:46 pm

mcDuffies wrote:
chibiartstudios wrote:Any classics of fiction one might recomend?
I'd reccomend Anthony Burgess book...

THE END OF THE WORLD NEWS.

Brilliance.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 9:45 am

...let me finnish.

Mr.Bob · Post by **Mr.Bob** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:06 am

Nor way!

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:33 pm

Aw, your puns are so swede!

Atillathebun · Post by **Atillathebun** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 5:40 pm

You call that free? The complete works of Homer alone amount to at least 6 black ink cartridges. That's about 180 dollars. I'll stick to the dusty yellow-paged used book store.

KittyKatBlack · Post by **KittyKatBlack** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:42 pm

atillathebun wrote:You call that free? The complete works of Homer alone amount to at least 6 black ink cartridges. That's about 180 dollars. I'll stick to the dusty yellow-paged used book store.

I was going to mention something about this too. Seriously, printing out books on your own is almost as expensive as buying the book once you consider how much paper/ink/toner you'll have to go through to actually print the books out.

mcduffies wrote:It's funny how information get progressively accesible. I remember the times when it was hard for me to find a decent book to read.

I still have that problem. I guess it's not so much that I can't find any, it's just that if I have internet access, there's much more interesting things to do than read a book. And the entertainment from a book doesn't last long enough to validate throwing out 20 to 30 bucks for one. If I'm going to spend money on something, I want it to entertain me for more than a couple days at the most.

TRI · Post by **TRI** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 5:53 pm

KittyKatBlack wrote:the entertainment from a book doesn't last long enough to validate throwing out 20 to 30 bucks for one. If I'm going to spend money on something, I want it to entertain me for more than a couple days at the most.

Hence the existance of public libraries.

Mr.Bob · Post by **Mr.Bob** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:04 pm

Public libraries are the most awesome thing ever. You can read... for free!

And nowadays most libraries rent videos, Cd-roms, games, CDs and music as well!
*borrows some more albums and burns them*

TRI · Post by **TRI** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:22 pm

Uh... you do mean the non firey kind of burning right? 'Cause otherwise I don't think they'll keep letting you check those out.

Also, libraries are a convenient, free, quiet, airconditioned place where nobody will think you're a weirdo for sitting around reading or drawing for an hour.
(They've saved my butt from heat stroke on more than one occaison.)

Mr.Bob · Post by **Mr.Bob** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:27 pm

Copy, yeah.