Attention Kindle-fans!

[swee'pea99]

I'm probably the last one to find out and you've known about it for ages, but just in case...

Looking for a PG Wodehouse book and I was surprised to find that on Amazon it wasn't free - I mean, the guy's been dead for about two hundred years, it's way out of wotsit and they still want north of four squids for it. Harumph.

A bit of googling and I found myself at http://freekindlebooks.org/ where they have about forty Wodehouses for nothing, along with about a million or three other books. You just download the ones you want, stick the mobi file in your documents folder, and that's that.

 

[marinyork]

Not that I am trying to stick up for the deeply out of date and regressive/retrospective copyright laws we have in the UK (worse in the US for some time periods), but this isn't totally correct.

PG Wodehouse died in 1975. As UK copyright law is (unfortunately) 70 years after the death of the author many of his books won't come out of copyright until 1st January 2046 (unless many of them weren't copyrighted or some other reason). This happens with many authors. It is the case that many earlier works of authors were written before the cut off point in the 1920s that they are out of copyright whereas ones written after this are in copyright till well into the 21st century.

It's perfectly true that amazon do try and profiteer. Unknown to many people F. Scott Fitzgerald came out of copyright recently and for a while amazon were charging a large sum for it (they aren't now).

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Not that I am trying to stick up for the deeply out of date and regressive/retrospective copyright laws we have in the UK (worse in the US for some time periods), but this isn't totally correct.

PG Wodehouse died in 1975. As UK copyright law is (unfortunately) 70 years after the death of the author many of his books won't come out of copyright until 1st January 2046 (unless many of them weren't copyrighted or some other reason). This happens with many authors. It is the case that many earlier works of authors were written before the cut off point in the 1920s that they are out of copyright whereas ones written after this are in copyright till well into the 21st century.

It's perfectly true that amazon do try and profiteer. Unknown to many people F. Scott Fitzgerald came out of copyright recently and for a while amazon were charging a large sum for it (they aren't now).

oooh, get the Great Gatsby - it's AMAZING!
Ooh

 

[marinyork]

oooh, get the Great Gatsby - it's AMAZING!
Ooh

Yes .

Reminds me actually, it's getting close to 1st January so then a whole knew raft of authors will become out of copyright in the UK (not in the US for much longer so initially may be hard to get hold of). Joyce and Virginia Woolf are the only big names to have died in 1941 that come to mind (although many of Joyce's works are out of copyright anyway).

 

[Doseone]

Thanks for the tip about Wodehouse.

I love my Kindle, honestly it's one of the best things ever, but it annoys the hell out of me that some books are more expensive to download for the Kindle than they are for the paperback. It's short sighted and greedy and could end up being counter productive. If they get the pricing right people will pay, if they price too high people will go down the illegal download route.

On the plus side I have read a few really good legitimate free books. I find the best way is just to check what's in the Amazon top 100 free list. If you see a good one download it straight away, they don't usually stay free for long.

 

[pubrunner]

I'm probably the last one to find out and you've known about it for ages, but just in case...

Looking for a PG Wodehouse book and I was surprised to find that on Amazon it wasn't free - I mean, the guy's been dead for about two hundred years, it's way out of wotsit and they still want north of four squids for it. Harumph.

A bit of googling and I found myself at http://freekindlebooks.org/ where they have about forty Wodehouses for nothing, along with about a million or three other books. You just download the ones you want, stick the mobi file in your documents folder, and that's that.

Great link - thank you for that !

I've already spotted some to download - dunno, when I'll find time to to read 'em though.

 

[marinyork]

www.manybooks.net is a good one too. There isn't consistency because copyright laws are different in different countries.

 

[swee'pea99]

I should add this is all totally legal and legit. Or at least, as it says on the site: "These E-books are file-format conversions of Project Gutenberg E-books to make them more directly usable on Kindle and other E-book Readers. These file-format conversions are either from PG HTML files, EPUB, or via GutenMark, in order to provide a more "book-like" experience on Kindle, including formatting, better punctuation, italics, and illustrations in some cases.

Free Kindle Books offers these E-books under the same identical terms as Project Gutenberg. We consider these to be "the same books" as Project Gutenberg, file-format-converted to run natively on Kindle and other MOBI and PRC compatible E-Book Readers. Please read the terms of use before downloading. Recently Project Gutenberg has started supporting MOBI file format directly on an "experimental" basis"

Their "We consider these to be" suggests that it's not *quite* as cut 'n dried as my opening says...but it's close enough for me.

 

[pubrunner]

www.manybooks.net is a good one too. There isn't consistency because copyright laws are different in different countries.

Another great find, that has gone into 'Favourites'.

I'm hoping to get some kind of Tablet device at Christmas, so such info. is most useful - thank you for taking the trouble to post the link - appreciated !

 

[Kestevan]

I'm still just about coming to terms with the existence of paperbacks.
The Kindle is the work of the devil, and will surely be the end of civilisation as we know it......

 

[G-Zero]

I love my Kindle, honestly it's one of the best things ever, but it annoys the hell out of me that some books are more expensive to download for the Kindle than they are for the paperback. It's short sighted and greedy and could end up being counter productive. If they get the pricing right people will pay, if they price too high people will go down the illegal download route.

Couldn't agree more. I'm a Sony Ereader user myself, but the same principle applies.

How can the likes of Waterstones and WH Smith charge the same, and sometimes more money for an electronic download, as they do for a paper version when there's no printing, storage or transportation costs.

They're taking the proverbial !!

 

[marinyork]

Great link - thank you for that !

I've already spotted some to download - dunno, when I'll find time to to read 'em though.

Well good look with that. There are many e reader type devicess you can get for cheaper than kindle/sony e reader if you want. Or refurbs or offers on them. The reason I like manybooks is the interface is a bit better for some people than simply lists - it also has books in multiple formats.

There is project gutenberg in the US and one in australia (more limited). It's worth checking when an author died and when a work was written before you go out and buy it. If it was written before 1923 it is likely in the public domain in the US and may be tracked down. If it was written after this and the author died before 31st December 2010 then it'll be in the public domain in the UK (but possibly not the US). This is how some authors have some books in copyright and other of their earlier works not. This is a summary of the US. The US tends to be used as a guide because it has the strongest conditions on the whole and you're most likely to be able to get it from a server in the US. However like I said the Great Gatsby is out of copyright in the UK, but not in the US. There's also not much point say splashing out loads of money for Finnegan's Wake or the later works of Virginia Woolf published in her lifetime as they all come out of copyright in the UK in about 3 weeks. For example Mrs Dalloway is on project Gutenberg Australia because unlike many other countries Australia didn't rat as much on copyright laws. So in three weeks time it is perfectly legal to download it here despite it not likely appearing in the US for a very long time and may not appear free in the UK for a while.

 

[pubrunner]

There are many e reader type devicess you can get for cheaper than kindle/sony e reader if you want.

I'm considering geting an Android tablet - presumably, I'd be able to read books on that ?

 

[ColinJ]

Couldn't agree more. I'm a Sony Ereader user myself, but the same principle applies.
How can the likes of Waterstones and WH Smith charge the same, and sometimes more money for an electronic download, as they do for a paper version when there's no printing, storage or transportation costs.
They're taking the proverbial !!

Maybe it isn't up to them! There are two possible reasons why they might be forced to charge more:

1. The UK government, in their wisdom, decided to impose VAT on digital downloads whereas paper books don't incur that charge.
2. Many book publishers are fighting a futile battle to keep their industry the way it was before eBooks came along. (The same way that the music biz did with MP3s.) Instead of embracing the possibilities of change, they are manipulating prices in favour of paper. Retailers have to put up their prices or they don't get the rights to sell the eBooks.

 

[ColinJ]

I'm considering geting an Android tablet - presumably, I'd be able to read books on that ?

Obviously, you can read books in PDF format on almost anything.

As for Kindle eBooks - yes, Android is fine! (If you follow that link, you will see that Kindle viewer apps are available for IPhone, Windows, Android, iPad, Blackberry, Windows phone and Mac.)