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Books & eBooks

Go to Amazon.com if you are looking for books [and other items]
A-Prompt Version 1.0.6.0 checked. WAI level 'double A'D

Books

  1. Audio-Books
    Many books are made into audio versions for a variety of people.
    • Audible.com
      ‘Choose from more than 25 000 best selling digital audioboooks, radio shows, audio versions of popular magazines, daily newspapers, and more’.
    • AudioBooksForFree.com
      Grouped under fiction, non-fiction and children. Also able to have a text only page for text browsers or screen readers.
    • Audio Editions
      Previously Audio Book Club.
    • Telltale Weekly
      ‘Project Gutenberg is well known for offering Free electronic versions of famous public-domain texts. Now Telltale Weekly wants to be its audiobook equivalent - Pamela O’Connell, The New York Times.’
    • Wired for Books
      If you can’t read them then you can listen to them.
  2. Author Collections :
    • Dickens, Charles
      The literary works compliments of the Online Literature Library.
    • Doyle, Arthur Conan
      The literary works compliments of the Online Literature Library.
    • Mark Twain
      All of the literary works compliments of the Online Literature Library.
    • Thoreau Reader, The
      Books, essays, links to other sites and some annotated versions.
    • Shakespeare, William
      Considered by many as the greatest English writer ever, you can find all his works through the following links.
    • Verne, Jules
      The literary works compliments of the Online Literature Library.
  3. Book Reviews
    The following sites will provide either access to reviews on that site, or collected links to other sites which provide reviews based on book types.
    • ABC Arts Online - Books
      This site provides an extensive range of book reviews [new and archived], compiled by ABC presenters from around Australia. Covers fiction, non-fiction and children’s books.
    • Barnes & Noble Review
      It provides reading lists in story rather than date order, links to author pages, interviews and reviews.
    • Foreword Magazine
    • Inside a Dog
      ‘A website for young people about books. Here you can : read and write reviews, meet our online author-in-residence, preview upcoming titles, read interviews with authors, keep up to date with all the latest bookish news.’
    • Modern Library : 100 Best, The
      Claimed to be the 100 best novels published in English since 1900.
    • whichbook.net
      A UK based site which provides the opportunity to get book recommendations based on specific interests [e.g. sad/happy, easy/demanding]. Some sections relate only to the UK but the recommendations are still good.
  4. Children’s Books
    The following will provide links to sites related to children’s books.
    • All Time Best Selling Children’s Books
      Done by Publisher’s Weekly, the listing has some obvious entries but also some surprises including the most sold book for children. There are 376 listed at time of viewing in either ‘hardback’ or paperback. Quite slow to load.
    • Children’s Book Council of Australia, The
    • Children’s Books Online : The Rosetta Project
      ‘The largest collection of illustrated antique children’s books on line … we think.’ Many available with translations of every page, in multiple languages.
    • Children’s Literature Web Guide
      Canadian developed recommendations.
    • Cool Reads
      Where ‘Books for 10-15 year old readers [are reviewed] by 10-15 year old reviewers.’ 1 200+ books have been reviewed by this group of British young people, these being broken up into a range of categories.
    • Harry Potter, The Official Website
      A plethora of activities and information about Harry Potter. [Also - Harry Potter]
    • International Children’s Digital Library, The
      ‘The International Children’s Digital Library is a place where kids all over the world can find lots of books from many different countries.’ Sections for ‘kids’ and ‘adults’, as well as the option to change languages. Check carefully for any costs.
    • Kidsreads.com
      A range of titles for children aged from 6 to 12.
    • Little Golden Books
      No longer 2/6 [25c], but for many of the older generation this was often all there was.
    • Mr Sneeze’s, Mr Men and Little Miss Page
      A collection of books for very young children.
    • Peter Rabbit and Friends
      The classic Beatrix Potter stories featuring Peter Rabbit and his friends.
    • Puffin
      Part of the Penguin collection of sites, but specifically geared to children up to about 15. Join the club, find out about publishing books and read reviews of books that are written for different children’s age groups. Links to authors such as Paul Jennings.
    • Speedy 5
      An Australian book about, yes, 5 kids who do everything Australian children do or would want to do if they could. The present book is the first of a planned series.
    • Spookyland
      Children’s literature made fun for ‘older’ children.
  5. Classic Literature :
    • Cambridge History of English and American Literature
      Covering all aspects of literature from both areas until the end of the Victorian era [British] and Later National writings [American].
    • ClassicReader.com
      “Read, search and annotate classic literature”. ‘The collection currently contains 669 books and 908 short stories by 198 authors. The works are split into seven categories which may be accessed via the links at the left of every page.’ Good collection.
    • Classic Short Stories
      Selections from people as diverse as Dickens and Garcia Marquez. A significant variety.
    • Great Books of Western Civilization
    • Harvard Classics, The
      [And Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction. 1909-1917, Eliot, Charles W., ed.]
      ‘The most comprehensive and well-researched anthology of all time comprises both the 50-volume ‘5-foot shelf of books’ and the 20-volume Shelf of Fiction’.
    • Internet Classics Archive, The
      Several hundred Greek and Roman texts, many with commentaries.
    • Literary Encyclopedia, The
      Simple searches will provide information on authors, books or topics. Complex searches will provide information on groups of the same. You can also build timelines.
    • Online Medieval and Classical Library
      Search function and browse by a variety of criteria.
  6. Fairy Tales, Myths & Legends
    Check these sites for tales of all descriptions.
  7. Fantasy & Science Fiction :
  8. General Sites & Portals :
    • AcqWeb
      ‘The gathering place for librarians and other professionals interested in acquisitions and collection development.’
    • new !Assayer, The
      ‘The Assayer is the web’s largest catalogue of books whose authors have made them available for Free. Users can also submit reviews. The site has been around since 2000.’ Membership is Free and provides access to several additional areas.
    • Australian Online Books
    • Banned Book’s Online
      Find out which books have been banned, where and why. You will be genuinely surprised at some that make this list.
    • Blackwell Reference Online
      ‘Blackwell Reference Online is a new vast online library giving instant access to the most authoritative and up-to-date scholarship across the humanities and social sciences. With more than 350 reference volumes to be published in Blackwell Reference Online by the end of 2008, it is the largest academic reference collection available online.’ Best accessed through participating institutions. Check your institution library for possible access.
    • Bloomsbury Research Centre
      Access 17 000+ references in this online database which allows you ‘to search on a wide range of subjects including literature, art, myth, human thought, quotations and a thesaurus or browse through each book at your leisure.’
    • BookMooch
      ‘BookMooch is a community for exchanging used books. BookMooch lets you give away books you no longer need in exchange for books you really want.’
    • Book Sources
      ‘This page allows users to search for multiple sources for a book given the ISBN number. Spaces and dashes in the ISBN number do not matter. The number starts after the colon for “ISBN-10:” and “ISBN-13:” numbers.’ An Example of one search can be found here.
    • Full Text Books
      A series of links [some also included elsewhere] done by Slippery Rock University [don’t you just love the name !]. A reasonable collection.
    • Genres
      If you liked a particular book and want to know if there are more by the same author then this could be a site well worth visiting. It will also provide other books/authors in the same genre.
    • Internet Public Library, The
      The name says it all.
    • Internet Speculative Fiction Database, The
      ‘Links together various types of bibliographic data : author bibliographies, publication bibliographies, award listings, magazine content listings, anthology and collection content listings, and forthcoming books.’
    • JustFreeBooks
      ‘JustFreeBooks search the content of more than 450 web sites, including gutenberg.org, wikibooks.org and archive.org. With JustFreeBooks you can find public domain texts, open books, free audio books, ad-supported books and more.’
    • LazyLibrary
      ‘Welcome to the LazyLibrary, where you can find books on any topic without having to worry about high page counts. If it’s over 200 pages, you won’t even see it. Read all about anything, in less time, for [usually] less money.’
    • Legends, Best of
      Begin to understand the background to epics such as Robin Hood. Even information on the background to a number of Shakespeare’s works.
    • Lord of the Rings, The
      An excellent place to start finding out about the story, the setting and the author. Take a guided tour of Middle Earth, see how you go on the extensive quiz [big enough to break into parts]. You can even buy collectables if that takes your fancy.
    • The Battle …
      [To Define the Future of the Book in The Digital World]
      ‘This paper examines competing visions for the future of the book in the digital environment, with particular attention to questions about the social implications of controls over intellectual property, such as continuity of cultural memory.’ A very extensive presentation that is well worth reading.
  9. Magazines, Journals & Newsletters :
    • Arts & Letters Daily
      A newsletter which covers literature, language, philosophy, aesthetics, ideas, culture, ‘gossip’ and a great deal more. In addition to the articles there is a significant range of quality links to related areas. Updated 6 times a week.
    • Early Modern Literary Studies
      ‘Articles in EMLS examine English literature, literary culture, and language during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.’
    • Journal of Commonwealth Literature Online
      Search for issues, articles, most read articles, RSS feeds and more.
  10. Mystery & Detective Books
    If you are interested in this genre, these sites will provide a starting point.
    • Bookmarks 1
      Links arranged on a group of pages covering all areas of mustery writing from books to authors and so much more.
    • Holmes Online
      Work with the greatest detective of all time. [Also called the Baker Street Connection]
    • MysteryNet
      Reviews latest offerings, offers trivia, posts puzzles, provides a fantastic discussion area and allows you to post your own mystery. Much, much more as well.
    • MysteryNet’s Solve-it
      Another section with their short story puzzles.
    • MysteryNet’s Kids’ Mysteries
      Designed especially for the younger generation.
  11. Non-Fiction Books :
    • 100 Best Non-Fiction Books
      [As selected by Random House]
      Includes both the ‘Board’s List’ and a ‘Reader’s List’. There are also links to other ‘100’ Lists.
    • Controversial Non-Fiction Books
      An extensive listing, sometimes annotated, all linked, from Wikipedia. Grouped in areas.
    • Dummies
      The supplier of an extensive range of books ‘for Dummies’ on everything from computing topics to everyday things.
      Excellent for beginners !
  12. Special Book Groups :
  13. Weblogs
    These may actually cover more than just books, with information about related areas such as prizes, authors, reviews, etc..
    • Literary Blogs and Weblogs
      [News for Classic Literature]
      A small collection of well-annotated links.
    • Matilda
      A log about Australian books, authors and general literary matters.
    • Writer’s Blog
      ‘The Writer’s Blog offers commentary about events in the literary and publishing worlds for journalists and writers.’

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eBooks

  1. Ebook Readers
    There are many different formats for ebooks, each of which is best served by a relevant reader suited to that type. Links to a number of these are given below.
    • Acrobat Reader
      For those books in .pdf format.
    • Adobe Digital Editions
      ‘Adobe® Digital Editions is an engaging new way to read and manage eBooks and other digital publications. It is built from the ground up as a lightweight rich Internet application [RIA]. Adobe Digital Editions works online and offline and supports PDF- and XHTML-based content as well as Adobe Flash® SWF for rich interactivity.’ There is also a small Library of books for Free.
    • Adobe Reader
      Download one of the popular ebook readers for use on your PC.
    • Book Reader [Rudenko]
      ‘BookReader can import books from text files. BookReader offers a unique way of reformatting text documents to represent them on your screen according to your preferences. The program can scroll text automatically. It remembers the reading position for each book from your personal library.’
    • Microsoft Reader
      Another of the readers available for ebooks.
    • Microsoft Reader [Add-in]
      Add-in for Word.
    • MobiPocket Reader
      For use with handhelds.
    • Ybook
      Read text and HTML formats in book form. Change font size, have pages turn and more.
  2. General Sites & Portals :
    • new !eBdb Electronic Books Database
      [eBooks Search Engine]
      Still being developed, but already an eclectic collection linked from other sites. Worth visiting but care should be taken when to be used by younger people.
    • SearcheBooks
      SearcheBooks is a search engine that is devoted exclusively to ebooks.
    • A Good Read
      A mix of classics and modern with some limited to a range of chapters. There are also articles, an ezine, product reviews and links. Downloads to either PC or Mac.
    • Alex Catalogue - Electronic Texts
      A range of ebooks that can be accessed via author, title, date or full catalogue. What is best is the range of options available for download, including .pdf format. By no means a complete listing but fairly extensive.
    • Author’s Den, The
      Access a variety of work by budding and lesser known authors. Free to read. Fee-based memberships for further services.
    • Books On Line
      A wide range of books, some of them Free ebooks.
    • ClassicReader
      ‘Where you can read, search, and annotate great works of literature by authors such as Dickens, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, and many others.’
    • DailyLit
      ‘DailyLit sends books in instalments via e-mail or RSS feed. We currently offer over 750 classic and contemporary books available entirely for Free or on a Pay-Per-Read basis [with sample instalments available for Free].’
    • DigitalBookIndex Subject Menu
      [eBooks, eTexts, Documents, On Line Books]
    • Digital Library
      Connect to 10 000+ books you can find by name or author. Huge number of links to libraries, reading rooms and a variety of archives.
    • eBook Directory, The
      Claimed to be the biggest directory of ebooks online.
    • ebook King, The
      This is a site ‘Providing ebook publishing services, ebook software packages, ebook advertising services, ebook template packages, ebook researching services, and Free ebook downloads.’ Well worth a visit.
    • eBookMall
      This is a Fee-based site but boasts 100 000+ books to download in multiple ebook formats.
    • eBooks Galore
      Another site where you will find lots of ebooks.
    • ebookStorePlanet
      Find information about epublishing, ebook readers and ebook marketing through this site.
    • Electronic Text Centre
      50 000+ texts are held at the University of Virginia with 5 000 accessible by the public. A range of languages. Follow instructions to get to the English area.
      Presently being moved to a new server.
    • eScholarship Editions
      ‘The eScholarship Editions collection includes almost 2 000 books from academic presses on a range of topics, including art, science, history, music, religion, and fiction. Over 500 of the titles are available to the public.’
    • FullBooks.com
      ‘Thousands of Full-Text Free Books.’ Online and grouped alphabetically, so you will need to know the title you are seeking. Has some modern as well as the classics.
    • Gutenberg Digital
      ‘The Göttingen Gutenberg Bible is Freely available on the Web. Due to the high quality images - especially the enlargements - it is possible that the download may take some time. It’s worth waiting.’ Other documents as well.
    • Literature Network, The
      ‘Offer searchable online literature for the student, educator, or enthusiast. To find the work you’re looking for start by looking through the author index. We currently have over 1 200 full books and over 2 000 short stories and poems by over 250 authors.’
    • Microsoft Reader Catalogue of eBooks
      A range of Free e-books to use with the Microsoft Reader, as well as books you can purchase.
    • Online Books Page, The
      A huge listing of books co-ordinated via subject categories. Done using Library of Congress [US] catalogue system.
    • Perfectbound
      Ebooks from HarperCollins in Australia. These are Fee-based.
    • Scribd
      ‘Scribd is a Silicon Valley startup creating technology that makes it easy to share documents online. You can think of Scribd as a big online library where everyone can publish original content, including you !’ A really wide range of content, so be careful.
    • Turning the Pages
      From the British Library. Access a range of material from the First Atlas of Europe to Jane Austen’s early work to the Lindisfarne Gospels and more.
    • World eBook Library
      ‘Housed in World eBook Library Multi-Terabyte server network is the world’s largest digital archive of PDF eBooks and eDocuments. Our collection hosts more than 60,000 PDF eBooks and eDocuments.’ Both Free and pay for access sections.
    • Zander
      A range of ebooks covering a number of areas.
  3. Free ebooks
    While many sites have some free books, these sites only supply Free ebooks.
    • new !AKAMAC E-text Links
      Listed in alphabetical groupings by author, with works listed on the individual’s page. Other search methods as well.
    • Australian Studies
      “Full Text and Other Resources [SETIS]” A range of ebooks from Australia’s history and early culture.
    • Bibliomania
      2 000+ texts, study guides and reference resources, plus links. Go to the READ section for these.
    • eBooks@Adelaide, Free Web Books, Online
      ‘The collection includes more than 700 classic works of Literature, Philosophy, Science, and History. Each work has been carefully formatted for maximum readability either on screen or when printed. Works can be read online, or downloaded for offline reading.’
    • Free-Book.co.uk
      An extensive listing of books compiled in directories such as ‘electronics’, ‘history’, ‘home’, etc..
    • Free Books
      A collection of links to a range of Australian, World and specialist sites that provide either online or downloadable ebooks of all kinds, as well as e-documents.
    • Free eBooks
      “Internet Marketing, Advertising and Business ebooks.” Access a range of books in these areas.
    • Free-eBooks.net
      ‘Free-eBooks.net specializes in collecting Free fiction, tutorial, marketing and business ebooks as well as resources to aid you in promoting eBooks. Click on the name of the eBook to download to your hard-drive. We also have links to useful resources for ebook Publishers.’
    • ManyBooks
      [Free eBooks for your PDA, iPod, or eBook Reader]
      Multiple formats, multiple directories from Adventure to Young Readers.
      Well presented !
    • MemoWare
      [ Thousands of Free ebooks and PDA Documents …] A lengthy listing in a range of formats for handhelds [some Microsoft ebook format].
    • Oxford Text Archive, The
      ‘Works closely with members of the Arts and Humanities academic community to collect, catalogue, and preserve high-quality electronic texts for research and teaching. The OTA currently distributes more than 2 500 resources in over 25 different languages.’
    • Page by Page Books
      ‘Hundreds of classic books you can read right now.’ View the listings by author or title.
    • Project Bartleby
      Literature, reference and verse - all with unlimited access.
    • Project Gutenberg
      A huge range [1 000s] of books online.
    • Project Gutenberg of Australia
      Not only books of an Australian background but a wealth of other information as well including timelines, chronology of exploration and much more.
    • Read Print - Online Books
      ‘Offers thousands of Free books for students, teachers, and the classic enthusiast.’ Search via Author, Shakespeare or even by Article.
    • The Internet Classics Archive
      A wealth of classic literature from M.I.T..
  4. Online eBooks :
    • Cybereditions
      Online publisher of scholarly and non-fiction works plus ebooks. Fee-based.
    • eBooks Online Library
    • Free Novels Online
      Read these ebooks online.
    • Free Online Fiction
      A range of links to various Free online fiction from short stories to novels.
    • On-Line Books Page, The
      25 000+ listings can be found at this site.
    • Online Library of Literature
      Presentation of works by a wide range of authors [some specific examples included in this listing].
    • Taylor & Francis
      [eBookstore]
      ‘The Taylor & Francis eBookstore features a quality collection of titles that you can buy in the current popular formats, now including Dx Portable. Prices listed on this site are for individual purchasers only.’ They sell a wide selection of books from a range of linked publishers.
  5. Software :
    • ABC Amber Lit Converter
      ‘ABC Amber LIT Converter is an advanced utility which converts your LIT [Microsoft Reader] files to any format you wish [PDF, HTML, CHM, RTF, HLP, DOC, and many more] easily and quickly.’
    • BookDB2
      ‘Enter all your books with author, category, publisher etc., and print them out in a variety of formats. BookDB also has lending library features. With them, you can add borrowers, loan out books, add multiple copies and so on.’ A huge capacity.
    • Microsoft Reader Add-In
      Allows you to create Microsoft Reader ebooks from within MS Word.
    • YBook Reader
      Freeware PDB, text, html and RTF ebook reader software. Appears as a side-by-side or single page[s] book with multi-sizing of fonts and much more.

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