ManyBooks Online

[yevaud]

Over 18,000 free titles online.<br /><br />http://manybooks.net/ <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[a_lost_packet_]

With all these free book sites popping up nowadays, I should probably invest in one of those "readers" that you can conveniently hold in your hand. Not a PDA but a good, book sized reader.<br /><br />But, it wouldn't duplicate the feel of the paper as you turn the page, the smell of the ink and the slick glossiness and texture of the latest color stamped cover... Reading is sometimes a more intimate act than just.. reading.<br /><br />(No, I am not aroused by books.. at least, not in that way. Not that there is anything wrong with that..) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>

 

[hracctsold]

Lost Packet,<br /><br /> Maybe you are still to ole world style, but I think I tend to agreed with you. I have a e-reader on my lap top, but it just doesn't seem to be the same as holding a REAL book in your hands. Also, when I find time to catch a few minutes of reading, I find it much more convinent to use a small paperback, then some electronic gizmo.

 

[bobw]

A quick scan at manybooks' Science Fiction category turned up <i>Metropolis</i> by Thea von Harbou which Project Gutenberg doesn't have. 186 pages in rich text format, I'm reading it now. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[a_lost_packet_]

<font color="yellow">hraccts - Lost Packet, Maybe you are still to ole world style, but I think I tend to agreed with you. I have a e-reader on my lap top, but it just doesn't seem to be the same as holding a REAL book in your hands. Also, when I find time to catch a few minutes of reading, I find it much more convinent to use a small paperback, then some electronic gizmo.</font><br /><br />I agree. I've certainly read books electronically. But, to me, a book is more than just a collection of words. There's a sort of nostalgia in turning the same dog-eared pages you've turned before. I re-read many books and I've sort of grown attached to some of them. IOW, they have gained in value merely by being a physical object I have associated a pleasurable experience with. (This is the origin of my side-comment in my above post.) Without that physical experience, I feel somewhat cheated. It's not a "whole" experience.<br /><br />There aren't many occasions at home where I am without a book. In lieu of a new one, I'll grab something, anything, sitting on my shelf. It's not quite the "Catcher in the Rye" syndrome from "Conspiracy Theory." But, it's close. <br /><br />A real gem of a book, nice binding, good tool-work on the leather, crisp gilded pages, a nice reinforced spine and a good story to boot can't be beat. As it stands, most of what I have is paperback. I read too many books to buy a hardback edition every time I go to the store. But, I do have a nice collection of well bound books. I think my favorite is a Classics of Science Fiction bookclub subscription set.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm rambling. The point is that I can certainly appreciate the electronic presentation of text. But, the physical presence of a real book adds too much to my enjoyment for me to easily go without it. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>

 

[hracctsold]

Sci/fi bookclub, that was one of the first things I joined when I first had money to spend on my own as a youngster of a kid. I had many of those for a long while and was exposed to many new writers.<br /><br />I'm old enough to say one of the few reasons I now am into computers and such, is for business reasons only. In fact, when I was in school a few years ago, I was determined not to take any computer classes, until I found out every one was requiring it, including my course study at school. Now, to my surprise, part of my business has to do with designing papers, photo directories, and such like.<br /><br />But one of my fondest memories also had to do with what my father said one time, "If I always wanted to find Henry, I just needed to look under a tree for him and a book. " That, I don't think, will ever change.