So I thought I might take this opportunity to explore some of the resources out there for people who are looking for good reads. You know those times when you run out of things to read (OK, that's never happened to me) or you're tied to the computer and would like something to read or you're just looking for some inspiration for additions to your book list.
And since I'm a bit of an Internet junkie, I've compiled a list of some of my favorite resources for books and book lists online. I can't promise that all of these are either fully classic or fully American, but there's still great stuff to be found on these sites. Read on for some great reads!
Free Books Online
Bartelby is my hands down favorite for online books. Its selection is great, with more than 370,000 pages (I couldn't find out how many books), 10,000 poems and 86,000 quotations. It's my first stop on the web for quotes. I also love the World Factbook, the government's treasure-trove of information about every nation on the planet. But there's great literature to be had here, too, from the Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction to collections of short stories and longer works from Aeschylus to Virginia Woolf (see, I told you it wasn't all American, though Americans are represented here, too). This is a great site for browsing and reading, whatever your tastes in literature.
The Online Books Page sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania has more than 20,000 books, which can be searched by subject (from heraldry to astronomy, social history to mechnical engineering), author and title or browse new listings. This site is great because it also has links to periodical archives (look under serials). Many of these are incomplete but could still be invaluable for research projects. I could browse this site for days.
Project Gutenberg is the granddaddy of free literature on the Internet. Its the oldest site of its kind, and it's pretty bare-boned, with a simple search for author or title and a place (under find an ebook) where you can browse alphabetical lists of authors and titles. You can also search by language (Gutenberg has books 26 languages other than English, including Yiddish and Esperanto.) This site also has a great partner site where you can help proofread manuscripts before they are uploaded. Though this site is harder to browse than some others, it's still wonderful, and you can download a CD or DVD image of all their books (or have one sent to you free). Instant ebook library!
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