Friday, February 13, 2015

Comprehensive List of Free e-Book Websites for your e-Reader

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If you own an e-reader you often can only buy e-books from the bookstore that is bundled on your device. Many of the budget e-readers out there don’t even have a bookstore that is accessible by users and many people are left to fend for themselves to load content on it.

Today we are proud to give you the most comprehensive free e-book resource catalog online. All of these books are hardware agnostic, which means they are not locked by DRM (Digital Rights Management). All you have to do is simply download a title and load in via the USB cable from your computer to your e-reader. Many of these sites also provide the books in more than one format, so they will work with your Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony e-reader and hundreds of others.

  • The Online Books Page: This source for free online books is hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Libraries and has well over 50,000 books available. All you have to do is select a title and get ready to read it on your device.
  • Bookboon:  is the world's largest publisher of online educational literature.  They have 900 free textbooks for university students that can be downloaded directly from the website and over 600 business related e-books.
  • free-ebooks.netDiscover all-new, rising authors. Independent writers offer both entertaining fiction/romance for your enjoyment and non-fiction to help you find info from self-help to biz growth.
  • GoodReads: Primarily known as a social community and virtual bookclub the company also has some excellent user generated free e-books. These normally comprise of books from the public domain, but also include those written by self-published and indie authors.
  • Feedbooks: This company sells e-books but they have a large selection of thousands of public domain editions. These books comprise of content in which the copyright has expired and can now be downloaded for free.
  • FreeBookSpot: There are thousands of books to download on FreeBookSpot and they are all free. Simply search, select and download. You'll be reading in no time.
  • Project Gutenberg: The Project Gutenberg site currently has over 46,000 free books available for download in various formats to jive with nearly any eReader. There's even a mobile site for those of you without an eReader or app downloaded. Find a book, select a format and you're good to go.
  • Questia: Here you can find an online library of 5,000+ books just waiting for you to read online. This is a great place to head to if you fancy yourself a classic literature buff, too!
  • Free-EBooks: Free-EBooks is kind of like a one stop shop for anyone looking for free eBooks, free magazines and some super helpful resources for anyone interested in whipping up a book of their own.
  • Internet Archive: Holy eBooks, Batman! You can fall down the eBook rabbit hole over at Internet Archive with over 6,000,000 titles available for your reading pleasure. There are some other really cool things available on their website, so take some time to click around before start reading!
  • FullBooks.com: There are thousands of books available to read online over at FullBooks.com. There are also some pretty nifty links on the website that will take you to other websites that offer reference books on everything from business to mental health disorders.
  • ManyBooks.net: Here you can find more than 29,000 eBooks just waiting for you to download for free. The easy search options make finding the books you are looking for a breeze and getting them on your device is even easier!
  • Open Library: Open Library is so cool that we really can't find the words to express how cool we think it is. It is an open source website with 20 million records available, so it's kind of like Wikipedia for bookworms! Cool, right?
  • Internet Public Library: The Internet Public Library takes a different approach to providing free reading material to anyone and everyone. This website has a huge catalog of links available that will take you to where you need to go to access the material you're looking for.
  • GetFreeEBooks: Hit up GetFreeEbooks for a wide variety of eBooks at your fingertips that you can download for free and with ease. There's also some other great information to check out whether you're interested in some news or tips for your own eBook.
  • Google Books: Millions of books are calling your name over at Google Books. Type in a quick search and you'll be on your way to reading heaven.
  • SmashwordsThis site is one of the largest self-publishing solutions in the world. They have over 50,000 titles that are free and primarily feature first time writers or authors who could not get publishing contracts.
  • FreeComputerBooks.com: Here's a free online book resource for all of you smarty pants computer, math and technical folks. There's bound to be something waiting for you in one of the 13 top level categories or 200 sub-categories.
  • Wattpad: Wattpad is specializes in Fan-fiction and the success of this platform  prompted Amazon to launch the paid service, Kindle Worlds.
  • Book.ish: There are loads of books to read over at Book.ish and it's quite an experience. It's easy to forget that you're not actually holding a book in your hand as you click through the pages of the eBooks.
  • Classic Reader: This website will soon become your one stop shop for all the classics you know and love. There are currently over 3,834 titles by 359 different authors, so you're bound to be pretty stacked for a while.
  • obook: This service has thousands of books and launched in the UK in 2009. It features books written by indie authors and public domain works.
  • FreeTechBooks: Here we have another stellar source for anyone with an eye (and brain) for all things computer science, engineering and much more. There are books, various documents, textbooks and maybe even some lecture notes. You can read, save AND even print many of the selections available.
  • Authorama: There's a lot to read and all for free over at Authorama. Each book on the website is formatted using XHTML and is super easy to read.
  • 24Symbols: All you need to read some of the 100,000 available titles at 24Symbols is a computer, tablet or smartphone and an internet connection. You can feed your inner bookworm with online books from nearly any genre and from tons of different authors.
  • KnowFree.net: Everything on the KnowFree website is free for anyone and everyone to download thanks to the help of other users generous enough to share the books, videos, software and other materials they already have.
  • Bored.com: You won't be very bored once you head over to Bored.com and read any one of the books to choose from. There are thousands available, so be prepared to have more options than you can shake a stick at.
  • Baen Ebooks: Lovers of science fiction and fantasy may want to checkout the free library offered over at Baen Ebooks. There are some great titles available for free and you can even download them to read later if you want.
  • DailyLit: The system used at DailyLit is pretty great and is topped off with the the cherry of being free. This site has a great selection of books and sends installments of the book to the reader via RSS feed or email. Readers are able to read as they please and can change up their preferences at any time.
  • EbookLobby: EbookLobby has 13 different categories with hundreds of books ripe for the picking. It's a sweet source for anyone interested in books about travel, art, law and more.
  • Bartleby: So many free books are available for free at the internet publisher, Bartleby. You can find tons of options in categories like reference, poetry, fiction and nonfiction. The possibilities are endless and exciting.
  • Bookyards: There are currently 19,562 eBooks available for your reading pleasure over at Bookyards. Simply select an author or category to find something great to read.
  • MobileRead – One of the largest communities online that focus on e-reader news and discussion. The website has an extensive selection of public domain books that are available in a multitude of formats.
  • TechSupport Alert – Has a comprehensive listing of over 10,000 fiction and non-fiction books. This service does not host the books and links to other websites. They focus primarily on non-fiction and audiobooks.

Comprehensive List of Free e-Book Websites for your e-Reader is a post from: Good e-Reader

Energy Sistem Slim e-Reader Review

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Energy Sistem may not be a household name in North America, but they have been developing e-readers in Spain for the last four years. The company recently unveiled their new product line for 2015, which comprises of three different e-book readers. Today, we take a look at the Slim, which is their entry level model.

The Energy Sistem Slim e-reader features a six inch screen that uses e-Ink Pearl and has a resolution of 600 × 800 pixels . The e-paper technology that the Slim uses is  fairly antiquated by modern standards. Most of the latest generation devices all use Carta, Regal or even Pearl HD.

Older e-ink technology really matters from a practical standpoint. Whenever you are reading an e-book and turning a page the entire screen will refresh. For a split second the entire screen will flash, which breaks immersion when you are really into a book. If you are used to older generation readers this might not be a big deal, if you have bought a cutting edge e-reader in the last few years, it will be noticeable.

Energy Sistem never publicly divulged the processor, but it is running 128M of RAM and has 8 GB of internal memory. You can expand the memory via SD if you need more room to store your books.

Speaking of books, one of the most exciting elements about the Slim is the sheer number of book formats it can read.  It has support for EPUB, PDF and MOBI, this means it will play nice with the vast majority of books you will download or buy from the internet. In order to get you reading right away, there is 500 titles that come bundled, in a myriad of different languages.

This reader is fairly bare-bones, which is why it only costs 69 euros. There is no touchscreen or built in light, instead you will navigate around with the D-pad and physical buttons.  If you ever used the Kindle Basic models from 2013 or older, you will know what I mean.

In the end, this e-reader is running Linux, which means you can’t install your own apps like the Energy Sistem Pro. It doesn’t have wireless internet access either, so  you will have to download your own books from the internet.

I would recommend this for more advanced users that know where to find e-books online and know how to use Adobe Digital Editions to load them in.


Energy Sistem Slim e-Reader Review is a post from: Good e-Reader

50 Shades of Grey to Save Bookstores Once More

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The first book in the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy was released in March 2012 and by the end of 2014 it had sold over 140 million copies. Bookstores all over North America and the United Kingdom all reported dramatic profits with each new installment of the book and setup huge installments to get people buying the books. Even University and College bookstores jumped into the fray, pushing textbooks out of the way and setting up kinky display sections. Things have tapered down in the following years, as bookstores try and find the next 50 Shades of Grey to bolster sales. It looks like that time has come, and its savior, 50 Shades of Grey, again.

The motion picture based on the first book is opening on Valentines Day and this is leading bookstores to capitalize on the film by once again devoting a large section of real estate to promote the book.

The book's UK publisher, Cornerstone, has arranged a signing with James to take place next Tuesday 17th February at Westfield London in Shepherd's Bush. The ticketed even at WH Smith will see 10 ticket holders win a Fifty Shades of Grey goody bag. WHS has also taken 300 promotional dump bins for its stores nationwide, and WH Smith Travel stores have been running videos featuring both the film tie-in and original editions of the book.

50 Shades of Grey sold the most copies in the United States and many of them were purchased at Barnes & Noble according to publisher Vintage Books. This is prompting the Nations largest bookseller to once again get behind the book and start promoting it near the front entrance once again.

Even Amazon is jumping on the bandwagon via their audiobook solution, Audible. They have been running radio ads on Spotify this week, and a short audio clip of Fifty Shades of Grey will appear as a free audio sample in the iOS and Android versions of Audible's app.

50 Shades of Grey to Save Bookstores Once More is a post from: Good e-Reader

Family Christian Bookstore Files for Bankruptcy Protection

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Family Christian Bookstores which sells books, bibles, supplies and other faith related materials has filed for bankruptcy protection. The company currently runs over 266 stores across 36 States.

The largest Christian bookstore chain in the US plans on remaining open during the restructuring of the company and 3,100 employees will continue to have a job for the interim.

Christian Fiction is on the decline, as overall book sales have plummeted 15% from 2013 to 2014. Family Christians sales have also been in a steady state of decline, dropping nearly 25% from $305 million in 2008 to $230 million in 2014, according to court filings. Family Christian announced that sales are projected to  sink to $216 million by the end of 2015.

According to Publishers Weekly, book publishers are on the hook for millions of dollars led by HarperCollins Christian Publishing which is owed $7.5 million. Tyndale House is owed $1.7 million, B&H Publishing Group $516,414, Faithwords $537,374, and Barbour Publishing $572,002. Finally, Ingram’s Spring Arbor distribution arm is owed $689,533.

Christian Family Bookstores is hoping to sell all of their assets to other ministry formed by Family Christian. They said it will likely take around 60 days for this to occur.

Family Christian Bookstore Files for Bankruptcy Protection is a post from: Good e-Reader

Final Naruto Volume Tops Weekly Manga Charts In Japan

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The latest Oricon weekly manga sales chart has revealed that the last 72nd volume of Masashi Kishimoto’s long running epic adventure series Naruto sold an impressive 874,120 copies in it’s first week, having been released on February 4th. After an amazing 15-year serialization, Kishimoto has finished the manga with 700 chapters on weekly Shonen Jump.

The manga that took 2nd place was Naoshi Komi’s Nisekoi 16th volume with 196,123 copies. And the last 30th volume of Tadatoshi Fujimaki’s basketball-themed sports manga Kuroko’s Basketball sold 337,000 copies in it’s first week of December 2014.

Further more, "-Naruto- Kakashi Hiden Hyouten no Ikazuchi", a novelization by Akira Higashiyama’s novelization ranked 2nd in the weekly book sales chart selling 60,611 copies along with Kishimoto’s own "-Naruto- Illustration Collection: Uzumaki Naruto" in 3rd with 42,812 copies!

Having grown up reading Naruto since it’s initial release in Shonen Jump magazine back in 2003, it is a sad goodbye, but what a high note it ended on! Are there any manga’s that you were sad to say goodbye to? Let us know!

Final Naruto Volume Tops Weekly Manga Charts In Japan is a post from: Good e-Reader

Kindle Text-to-Speech Review (Video)

One of the features that Amazon offers for Kindle ebooks that not very many other companies offer is text-to-speech. Having the option to have your ebooks read aloud is a handy feature to have sometimes. Not all Kindle books support text-to-speech, or TTS for short. It’s up to publishers and authors to enable the feature. […]

Collection Highlights: Sweet Sales


Want an insider's take on some of the biggest sales going on in OverDrive Marketplace this February and March? Click Start Prezi above for a quick look at four can't-miss sales, complete with details, dates, and our own personal picks from each promotion. Get inspired by deals that celebrate Chinese New Year, romance, independent publishers, and more.

Note: For the best audio experience, we recommend watching this presentation in Chrome.

Carrie Smith is a technical writer at OverDrive.

Kindle Voyage Swees Cover Review (Video)

After putting together the Kindle Voyage Covers and Cases List last October, I had a hard time choosing a good case for the Kindle Voyage, so I ended up putting off getting a cover until just recently. The cover I ended up choosing wasn’t available when I made the list. A reader left a comment […]

Hosting an Author Giveaway – Part II

A reader uses her Nook ereaderIn yesterday’s post on Amazon’s new giveaway tool, there were some initial steps for ensuring the platform works for you as best it can. Here are some follow up steps to take to make sure you’re getting the most from your efforts.

3. Speaking of Winners (and the losers, for that matter) – Make sure you’re taking full advantage of the winner and loser messages on your giveaway. These are customized but still only about as long as a tweet. The winner’s message can point him to your other books or remind him that you’d love a review after he’s finished reading. The loser’s message, on the other hand, is a fantastic place to say, “You didn’t win? I’m sorry! Send me an email at this account and I’ll give you a code for the ebook!” You can provide the loser with an ebook in any format you wish, from free to paid, but remembering that simply using his email address to “gift” him the ebook from Amazon will cost you less than the price of your print book and will increase your ebook ranking.

4. It Doesn’t Have to Be Your Book – The best part of this tool is that you can give away anything that Amazon has included in the platform, even if it’s not yours. You’re able to find an inexpensive (or expensive, for that matter) item that might go along with your book and offer that instead. Valentine’s Day coming up? Host a giveaway for chocolates, but be sure to mention your romance titles in your winner and loser messages. You wrote a YA thriller about a kid on the run from the mob who ends up hiding out in a vast wilderness? Offer a giveaway of a camping or survival-related item. Just be sure to leverage it with your messages.

5. The Roundabout Giveaway – Critics of Amazon’s tool have said it doesn’t result in what authors really need, and that’s email addresses or contact info and traffic to their websites. Why do authors need that? Because it helps them market their subsequent titles and increase their searchability. But one option some users have already used successfully is to create their giveaways and have the tweets lead to their own websites where the actual giveaway link is located. This only adds one more click-step to the process, but brings fresh eyes to your website.

The most important thing to remember about any kind of tool you use for book promotion is that nothing is going to work like magic. All forms of promotion require effort on the part of the author, coupled with genuine, meaningful engagement with readers.

Hosting an Author Giveaway – Part II is a post from: Good e-Reader

The results are in for the Sonic Pi Competition!

To celebrate the launch of Sonic Pi 2 we held the inaugural Sonic Pi competition. We were looking for some of the best space-themed music, coded with Sonic Pi v2.0 on a Raspberry Pi by school children in the UK aged between 7 – 16 years – and we were not disappointed.

After a month of judging, Dr Sam Aaron, creator of Sonic Pi, and the Foundation gang have whittled all the entries down to just ten finalists. We will be announcing the overall competition winner at the Raspberry Pi birthday celebrations at the end of February.

Here is Sam’s thoughts on the competition:

Greetings Live Coders! Let’s gather round to discuss the results of the Sonic Pi competition. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to talking about for a long time. You see, I wrote Sonic Pi to give people the tools to make music they otherwise may never have made. It may sound crazy, but had a dream that once Sonic Pi was in the hands of others, especially children, music I couldn’t even dream about would be created using it. If you look back into the history of music you’ll see an interesting pattern – time and time again new genres of music explode out of people fearlessly experimenting with new technology. It was therefore a wonderful experience for me to listen to every one of the entries and repeatedly hear a fearless experimentation with code as a new technology for music. Thank-you!

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This year’s competition was all about space, and it was fantastic to hear such a broad range of interpretations of the theme. Through the music, I was taken on a range of exciting journeys – drifting through galaxies, exploring the moon, escaping space battles and hearing sounds which can only be explained as alien.

Another aspect of the competition was the structure and readability of the code. Again, I was amazed by how much of Sonic Pi’s functionality was being used across all age ranges. Some people think it’s crazy to teach threads at school level, but these compositions show how not only has the concept been understood, but used in interesting ways. It was lovely to see so many of the entries display a real care for how the code was laid out and organised. Many were at a the standard of a professional programmer!

Of course, every competition needs winners, and we’ll get to those in a moment. However, before we do, I’d like to express my deepest thanks for everyone that entered. Each one of your entries made me smile. Thank-you so much, and please keep on coding!

Sam

Drum roll please…

Here are our 10 finalists (including cover art, audio, description and code)! If you would rather listen to the compositions then we’ve created this soundcloud album. Enjoy!

The Street Of Fruiting Bodies is Getting Big-Screen Adaption

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Viz Productions has announced that they will be adapting Sayuri Ueda’s short story, The Street Of Fruiting Bodies, into a feature length film. Furthermore, they have announced that Sam Hamm, the screenwriter of 1989’s Batman and its sequel Batman Returns, has been added on to write the film’s screenplay.

The production company is an offshoot to Viz Media, the official distributor of most manga in North America. Viz Productions, based in Los Angeles, California, acts as a mediator between Japanese material and American film companies. The company’s purpose is to help communication between both parties, and to encourage the involvement of Japanese creators in the film’s development process. The first contribution from Viz Media was Edge of Tomorrow, a live action film starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. The film is an adaption of Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s light novel, All You Need Is Kill.

Viz Media’s official synopsis of the story is as follows:”‘The Street of Fruiting Bodies’ depicts the sudden spread of a mysterious and lethal species of hallucinogenic mushroom. The infestation is deadly, but it also offers visions of deceased loved ones to the infected, hinting at the reality of an afterlife, or at least a new kind of existence that is beyond human comprehension.”

Some viewers have questioned the choice in material. It doesn’t exactly sound like the kind of story that makes a feature film, though some have speculated the potential ‘trippy’ feeling the film could bring. One question it raises, how much of the film will stay true to the plot in terms of setting? Most movies with an Asian background have been moved to a North American setting, or had the cast replace with white actors. Will the film adaption of The Street Of Fruiting Bodies do the same? Will the infection spread only in one city, or will it be worldwide, opening the possibility of having a multiracial cast with characters from all walks of life?

The Street Of Fruiting Bodies was included in September’s Phantasm Japan: Fantasies Light And Dark, From And About Japan. The book, released by Viz Media, is a collection of Japanese short stories by many noted authors.

The Street Of Fruiting Bodies is Getting Big-Screen Adaption is a post from: Good e-Reader