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Free Books on the Web

24

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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,314 ✭✭✭Talliesin


    luckat wrote:
    http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/ift/

    Take a look at "The Birth of Bran" if you're doggy Tuan Mac Cairil if you're pantheistic, and any chapter if you're a lover of good writing and great storytelling.
    That entire site is a great source of free texts. It's extremely popular with all sorts of people who have an interest in religion, theology, thealogy, mythology etc. but lots of the texts are good reads for anyone.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,537 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    stagolee wrote:
    i was just wondering what are the requirements for a book to go out of copywright? does the author have to be dead 70 years or something?
    Under Australian copyright law, literary, dramatic, & musical work published, performed, communicated, or recorded and offered for sale in an author's lifetime are, if the author died in or before 1954, protected for the life of the author plus fifty years from the end of the year of the author's death. Therefore, for a work to be in the "public domain" in Australia, it is only necessary that the author died in or before 1954 and that the work was published (not necessarily in Australia) during her/his lifetime. As an example, the works of George Orwell, who died in 1950, are in the "public domain" in Australia. Where an author died after 1954 the copyright period is the life of the author plus seventy years from the end of the year of the author's death.
    Not much use for those of us who aren't in Oz but here are the links anyway.
    http://gutenberg.net.au/index.html
    http://gutenberg.net.au/plusfifty.html


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,537 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    The above would be better off on bargin alerts http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=246


  • Registered Users Posts: 649 ✭✭✭Gunther_Gloop


    Well I can recommend this (free) book... www.thehighkickingkungfusoccerplayingbunnyrabbittree.com/

    It's about a guy who does nothing. Always.


  • Registered Users Posts: 64 ✭✭Johnny Meagher


    complete short stories of Anton Chekhov: http://www.eldritchpress.org/ac/jr/index.htm
    great search page for online books:
    http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/

    don't forget audio books, quite a few resources out there, I've joined up with Audible.co.uk so don't use much but this is worth a look:
    http://librivox.org/ interesting "let's all get together and read public domain books aloud", listened to a few stories, surprisingly good quality.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 207 ✭✭lmmoonbeam1976


    I found that using a file sharing program called 'xolox' was quite good for downloading free e-books. You can download the program from www.zeropaid.com. The program was disabled for a while but has since been re-activated. Definitely worth a look


    just tried to check out the site here-- not working !!


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,149 ✭✭✭ZorbaTehZ


    Clausewitz's Vom Kriege


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8 NightmareHero




  • Closed Accounts Posts: 730 ✭✭✭owlwink


    BossArky wrote: »

    Brilliant one this. Thanks a mill


  • Registered Users Posts: 65 ✭✭irishpaddy


    Manach wrote: »
    May I quickly say err I draw the wrath & fury of Lolth these aren?t warez.
    The publishing house Baen has put some it?s books on the web in HTML format.
    I gather this is an attempt to interest the reader in other published works by the authors. The books are of mixed quality but with some good ones (eg Fallen Angels).
    www.baen.com/library
    can you tell me how to get them d/led i would love to be able to get books onto cd. my eyes get very tired reading; and listening to them would be great. if anyone knows i sure would be appreciate it.:)


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  • Registered Users Posts: 7,020 ✭✭✭eVeNtInE


    This post has been deleted.


  • Registered Users Posts: 7,020 ✭✭✭eVeNtInE


    This post has been deleted.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,151 ✭✭✭Thomas_S_Hunterson


    Slightly OT:

    Would I be right in thinking that in the EU & Ireland copyright expires 50 years from date of first publishing?

    I'm almost 100% that that's the case for music anyway.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,311 ✭✭✭xebec


    Sean_K wrote: »
    Slightly OT:

    Would I be right in thinking that in the EU & Ireland copyright expires 50 years from date of first publishing?

    I'm almost 100% that that's the case for music anyway.

    Nope, it's actually typically the author's lifetime + 70 years. See here.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 218 ✭✭Gu3rr1lla


    www.scribd.com the best site ever for books (apart from google books)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,762 ✭✭✭turgon


    I dont know is this alright here, but Bookmooch.com is pretty good. Basically a book trading website. You send books to people, earn points, and spend those points getting books back.

    Its technically free, you pay for the postage of the books you send.

    It can work out quite good if you manage it well! I just earned nine points for 3 books to spain, costing me €7.50. I could get about 5 or 6 books back depending on where I get them. Thats about €1.50 a book, pretty good!


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,537 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Sean_K wrote:
    I'm almost 100% that that's the case for music anyway.
    Broadcast over the radio or TV are only copyright for 50 years. This refers to the performance and not to the Music or Lyrics themselves.

    For example Sir Cliff is a performer and you can show stuff recorded 50 years ago. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Doll_(song)
    Living Doll would is 50 years old http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Bart died April 3, 1999 so at present the song is still copyright until 2069 barring yet more extensions, so you most definately can't do covers of it. The trained seal is not entitled to a copyright extension because there was no creative process in the performance, unless he copyrighted the choreography :pac:

    [EDIT]
    AFAIK you can't duplicate the original record,just a recording of it.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7974727.stm
    The copyright on sound recordings currently lasts for 50 years in the UK.


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You
    In European Union (EU) countries the copyright in the song will expire December 31, 2016. Until then it's public performances are illegal unless you pay royalties. And they are making about two million a year on it's use in films and other mass media.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14 teamB_macro


    Gu3rr1lla wrote: »
    www.scribd.com the best site ever for books (apart from google books)

    i also get class notes, outlines and reviewers from that site. pretty helpful one.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,445 ✭✭✭Jako8




  • Registered Users Posts: 649 ✭✭✭Gunther_Gloop


    Best book I've read in years is now free.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 22 Bunny_Ears


    Wow, this thread is a pure treasure. Thank you, folks!


  • Registered Users Posts: 408 ✭✭questioner


    I second that about bookmooch, its a great resource, sent 20 books so far and am expecting about 30 in return so far. postage can be daunting but from what i can gather you are as well to send your books abroad as to ireland as the rates for 500 grams are pretty much universal, and you get three points for sending abroad... you also get 1/10th of a point for listing each book and 1/10th for leaving feedback.

    all round thoroughly satisfied and now one of my daily sites


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,987 ✭✭✭✭zAbbo


    Don't think this was posted - http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/free

    Over 11,000 in PDF format


  • Registered Users Posts: 241 ✭✭quinnthebin


    Best book I've read in years is now free.


    no longer available for free download as of 01/01/10

    just as I was getting curious and was about to read my first book in quite a while :(


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,339 ✭✭✭me-skywalker


    hey guys for anyone who wants to read this online for free...

    http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland

    also there is Through the looking Glass.

    Completly legal as Carrol is dead over 100years his works became open for public sourcing.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,745 ✭✭✭Eliot Rosewater


    Theres a whole stickied thread here - Free books on the web - with this kind of thing. Project Guthenburg in general is pretty good. I dont like reading from a screen myself though.


  • Registered Users Posts: 207 ✭✭kickarykee


    This one's in Apple's app store, but it's free:

    It's called 101 Classic Novels und has - as the name suggests - all the Classic Novels in it. The iphone reader is also nice :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 106 ✭✭hazbot


    Best book I've read in years is now free.

    no longer available for free download as of 01/01/10

    just as I was getting curious and was about to read my first book in quite a while :(

    Looks like Ooyay (above) is available on free download again. Well worth a read. I bought the paper version a while back so I'm not just saying that coz it's free :P


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 698 ✭✭✭D.R cowboy


    Do you know where I can read ebooks for free , irish novels fiction etc


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,745 ✭✭✭Eliot Rosewater


    Loads of free ebooks over on the Book Depository.

    And theres the whole stickied thread above about free books :pac:


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