chrysalis_stage Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 (edited) Does anybody use google book search to read books. There are alot of books avaliable that have limited supply but there are a number of classics avaliable and the whole book is there too read. Seeing as I can't buy books at the moment I've started to read Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy on there, it's quite good. Although you can't get better than curling up with an actual book in your hands, its useful when you can't get get to a book. Some books I have noticed that are avaliable for full view are: George Orwell - Animal Farm O Mirbeau - The Torture Garden L Sacher - Masoch - Venus in furs Grimms Fairytales Wind in the willows The Hunchback of notredame which you can download as a pdf (which I have done) Dracula Frankenstein Far from the madding crowd Tess of the D'Urdervilles Pride and prejudice Sense and sensibility The count of monte cristo war and peace The lliad Around the world in eighty days The scarlett letter Also if you type in plain label books, alot of classics come up Edited March 6, 2009 by chrysalis_stage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceinwenn Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Seriously? I never knew this! How is this legal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Seriously? I never knew this! How is this legal? Same question here, and Brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrysalis_stage Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 (edited) I'm not sure, but it is. Link is: http://books.google.com/books Edited March 6, 2009 by chrysalis_stage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I think it's to do with the copyright laws only lasting for so many years, and that's also why lots of publishers have specialist "classics" lines, and they can all publish the same books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrysalis_stage Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 I also think its a thing supposed for american residents but there isn't a stop on other countries using it...some books look like they have been scanned up while others have been freshly typed out. I have known about it for a while but only recently realised it held so many fiction books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 Never noticed this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I think it's to do with the copyright laws only lasting for so many years, and that's also why lots of publishers have specialist "classics" lines, and they can all publish the same books. It is. Which is also why you'll find lots of free classic audio books out there. But honestly, I cant imagine reading a volume such as The Count of Monte Cristo on a screen... As a reference or a way to re-read favourite extracts it's great... But to read the whole book?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 I use Google Books and Google Scholar a lot for school research. A lot of the books are only available in snippet form, or there are huge chunks missing, but I've been able to do a lot of good research for several papers using this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrysalis_stage Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 I had too used it previously for quotes, references for university work together with google scholar but never realised that it had full versions of appealing books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seiichi Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 I think it's to do with the copyright laws only lasting for so many years, and that's also why lots of publishers have specialist "classics" lines, and they can all publish the same books. Yes. Some of the books, depending on the copyright laws of individual countries, will be in the public domain. There was some fuss over copyrights a while ago but I think Google reached some kind of agreement with the copyright holders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Just discovered Google Book Search today by coincidence. Another good one is Google Scholar. Just go to www.google.com then click on the More link at the top and choose Scholar from the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilde Lily Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I have a hard time reading anything as lengthy as a book on the computer. The glare hurts my eyes too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 The Complete Sherlock Holmes can be read online. If I'm really bored at work, I just call up a book (a short one - not Hound of the Baskervilles:lol:) and have a quick read with a coffee. It's great and everyone thinks you are working:mrgreen: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peacefield Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I use Google book search every time I'm online researching my family tree. They have a lot of biography and history books on there, plus location-specific books. Sometimes the books are not in full view, but most of the time I get lucky and can find some great stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petit_canard25 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 I have a ton of ebooks if you would like some. Send me a pm which ones you want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 The copyright issue is a pretty gray area, laws vary from region to region, but copyright usually extends for at least 70 years after the authors death, which is why Google were forced to make a settlement in the US courts for from what I understand, quite a substantial sum, in favour lof both authors and publishers. This seems only fair, given that in most cases, their works were scanned without permission. It might be good for the reading public, but is not good at all for the copyright holders, after all, why buy a book that you get for free online ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.