The most popular posts here at Treated & Released are lists of free ebooks. Publishers, authors, software developers, and mobile device manufacturers offer free ebook downloads to accustom readers to their business models and familiarize them with their brands.
At Matthew McClintock’s manybooks.net, ebooks are generated on demand in a variety of formats as a public service. McClintock maintains a running count of the most popular formats downloaded by users of the site. PDF currently tops the list.
Websites designed to generate advertising revenue are already beginning to capitalize on the demand for free ebooks by presenting large collections for browsing. Before long, there will be a truly comprehensive free ebook library on the Web.
Meanwhile, here’s one more helping of free ebooks:
FeedBooks This one-year-old technology company based in Paris, France, developed a universal ebook platform and offers free out-of-copyright ebooks and short stories on its nicely organized site.
Zinio This digital publisher offers a bookshelf of 100 free classics, as well as free digital magazine samples in exchange for your online registration, but its best bet is its digital textbook division.
We Tell Stories Six Penguin authors took part in an experiment with the creative delivery of digital fiction.
Poet’s Press & Grim Reaper Ebooks Because it prints only limited editions, this private press in Providence, Rhode Island, offers some of its older titles as ebook downloads.
Scott Sigler & Seth Harwood Sigler, who specializes in science fiction, and Harwood, who writes crime fiction, amassed audiences on the Web by serializing their novels as free podcasts before they appeared in print. Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle last month, Chris Cadelago described how the two authors landed book deals by proving they could attract readers.
Small Beer Press This independent publisher in Easthampton, Massachusetts, has offered three of its short-story collections as ebooks with Creative Commons licenses.
Smart Pop BenBella Books, an independent publisher based in Dallas, Texas, includes a few free ebook downloads on the site devoted to its pop-culture titles.
The Yggyssey Although it won’t be published by Houghton Mifflin until 2009, Daniel Pinkwater’s children’s book is being released on the Web in weekly installments.
DQ Books These experimental online magazines resemble graphic novels set to music.
Samizdat Press Hosted by the Colorado School of Mines, this site distributes free ebooks and lecture notes.
Russian Virtual Library Classical and modern works of Russian literature are made available in electronic format by this service.
Amazon Kindle Guide, Free Ebooks & Resources A Kindle evangelist links to scores of additional free ebook sources on the Web.
For more online resources, see the previous posts:
* FREE ebooks * More FREE ebooks * The growing list of FREE ebooks
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