Try some; it's good.
Wherein I ramble about books, movies,
music, TV shows, my life, and occasionally, hot emo boys.
My Books
Current WiP
My ValentineGuide sequel = DONE
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Thursday, August 23, 2007
T13
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Got your attention, didn't I? As an author, you'd think I would be against free books on principle, but nope, no way. I'm all for anything that gets people reading. See, once you get 'em started, it becomes a habit. They want more, and then I'm perfectly placed to hook them up. I'm watch you call a threshold literary pusher. Yeah, you got that right. I'm your friendly neighborhood book-crack dealer. Why do you think it says on the excerpt pages of my website: "Your first taste is free"? I aim to make y'all story junkies, who can't get enough of what I got. But in the meantime, I'll help you find some free reads. 1. Shareware eBooks They don't have a huge selection, but the most important part is... free! You might be surprised at the books in the romance section. I found Pleasure for Pleasure here, which I understand is awesome. And their reader is gorgeous; it looks like an actual book on your computer screen with turning pages and everything. They also have the complete works of Andrew Lang, which is quite wonderful. 2. Paperback Swap All you pay is postage. You send books; you get books back. This is a beautiful system, and you can request certain ones, I believe. 3. Title Trader This site works like Paperback Swap, but you can also trade movies and games as well. 4. SF-Books Another swap site, but this one specializes in SF and Fantasy with some horror as well. Joining is free, and you earn credits for each book you send out. That allows you to ask for any book you want on the site. 5. Enter contests. You should enter every contest you can. Why? Because the prize is usually a free book, or sometimes a gift certificate that will allow you to pick out books for free. Yay! 6. Join the staff of a review site. You'll get your pick of new releases. 7. Project Gutenberg Over 20,000 free books just waiting for you to download and stash on your PDA. I snagged the complete works of Cory Doctorow on there and took them on vacation with me. There's a lot of classics on here, but there are other hidden gems as well. For instance, did you know that A.A. Milne wrote a detective novel in 1922? It's called The Red House Mystery. You can find it here. He wrote this dedication: TO JOHN VINE MILNE You can see the gentle good humor that he imbued to his much beloved Winnie the Pooh stories. It's worth a look. 8. Become a beta reader. This means befriending an author and eventually saying ever-so-casually, "I wouldn't mind beta-reading for you." This doesn't mean critique. A beta reader is unaffiliated with publishing, and is only required to give a reaction to the book. Say what worked or didn't work. Why. Sometimes beta readers notice things that writers / editors don't. Common sense type things, like if a faerie character is allergic to iron, but has no problem riding in cars. 9. Internet Public Library This has some interesting stuff on it. I'm partial to the Cowboy Poets and the translated works of female authors writing before 1700. Lots of obscure treasures to be uncovered. 10. Check author websites for a "free reads" page. Many of us offer free stories just to reward readers for visiting. 11. Baen Free Library Anyone who wishes can read these titles online -- no conditions, no strings attached. (Later we may ask for an extremely simple, name and email only, registration. ) Or, if you prefer, you can download the books in one of several formats. Again, with no conditions or strings attached.And it's just that simple. 12. ManyBooks Over 17,000 free books, including The Rainbow and Women in Love by DH Lawrence. I like the Banned Books section. It's amusing to see what knobheads have objected to. What in the world is wrong with The Call of the Wild? I read that in grade school. They also have a large, yummy Pulp section, so if you love Robert E. Howard and his contemporaries, you can find lots of goodies here. 13. Bookins Another swap site. Can you ever have too many? They offer flat-rate shipping. Hope you've learned something and get a good free read shortly. |
Labels: Thursday 13
:-)
Gwyneth
Haha, Gwyneth, can I make official? I so need to make an Official "Book Pimptress" button and stick on my blog. It took me over an hour to compile all these links. I sorted through a lot of craptastic sites to find the best ones.
Y'know, Carrie, I thought about posting that, but (a) that's so basic nobody needs me to point it out and (b) you don't get to keep those books. You're borrowing, not getting them free to keep and reread.
Me too, Kat. I love finding books I've wanted to read for years on there and never got around to. It's a wonderful resource.
Getting books isn't my problem. Restraining myself from acquiring far more than I can read is. :)
I've got to second the beta-reading thing, which is wonderful, but just a warning: if you beta-read for an author who sends you a chapter at a time, you're risking a lot of sleepless nights. Particularly if said author is also addicted to cliffhanger chapter-endings. ;-)
PBW E-book challenge and my own freebie page:
free reads. Also, google "free reads" or "free romance reads". You'll be surprised how many authors offer free stories to inspire reading!
You are right; I've bought MORE books since I started the online trading. I buy books by authors I love. I buy extra copies of books I love, to share. I buy books that I've read to put on my shelves because I NEED to keep them close by.
Yup. The more I trade, the more I buy. Seen my office lately? Me, either. Too many books.
Thanks for visiting Maia's picture TT.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
My TT's up--the first in a long while--about my favorite Movie Spoofs. Come by and share your faves!
Thanks for visiting my TT! :-)
I'm a big, big fan of libraries myself.
I totally agree however, great list. :)
Happy T13, and thanks for visiting mine!
Thanks for visiting.
thanks! Excellent TT and thanks for visiting!
I hope I didn't overwhelm their servers with the pimpage!
I hadn't realized how many books I got from family that I haven't read yet. I better get busy.
Thanks for the site links. Happy TT!
Happy TT'ing and thanks for stoppin by :)
I just found a copy of Cyrano de Bergerac on manybooks.net.
I'm so very pleased.
I also love authors who give out free reads(that don't suck) on their websites.
I'm proof it's great marketing, 'cause I will go out and buy a book with their name on it.
You authors should get into that, 'cause I'm all over it.
[/shameless]
Right now I'm making my famous bacon ranch potato salad for a cookout at mi suegra's house later today to celebrate my birthday (which is Monday). And then tomorrow we're going to my brother in law's place for brunch.