4 ms·

I'm surprised no eBook Reader vendor has a Project Gutenberg "Store." Where you can just browse Gutenberg, find a book, and just grab it down to the reader. Ins

I'm surprised no eBook Reader vendor has a Project Gutenberg "Store." Where you can just browse Gutenberg, find a book, and just grab it down to the reader. Instead, they either are actively hostile (Kindle), or require the use of Calibre (which itself is good, it is just the friction).

JSeiko 5mo ago
I've heard that the newest Kobo e-readers have a browser that you could use to go to gutenberg.org and directly download files. but yes, generally I agree with your point. Library of 75k books seems pretty valuable to have direct access to.
GaryBluto 5mo ago
Most of them offer their own paid storefronts and have a perverse incentive not to offer a large area full of free books.
- JSeiko 5mo ago
  probably true. Maybe an true open-source eReader should exist.
  - WillAdams 5mo ago
    Arguably https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=biz.bookdesign.gutebooks https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=biz.bookdesign... should ~~be~~ EDIT have been ENDEDIT opensource --- it does at least work to support Project Librivox (or at least that's my understanding) Seems to no longer be available (see below)
    - JSeiko 5mo ago
      I'm getting "We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server." if I go to the link
      - WillAdams 5mo ago
        I believe the app is discontinued and the reason I can see the page is that I am on record as having downloaded it.
  - dgellow 5mo ago
    They do exist, since a pretty long time. I bought a pocketbook beginning 2010s. https://pocketbook.ch https://pocketbook.ch. If you mean epub reader software Calibre and a bunch of others exist since pretty much the beginning of epub
horsawlarway 5mo ago
I've used https://standardebooks.org/ https://standardebooks.org/ to pull nicely formatted Project Gutenberg books on any e-reader that supports a browser (in my case, Boox). Technically, I can also just directly pull the epub from Project Gutenberg, but sometimes the formatting leaves a lot to be desired. Once you get an e-reader that runs a semi-capable OS (ex - stock android, even an older version), it's hard to go back to something like a kindle.
- JSeiko 5mo ago
  standardebooks.org is great!
- everybodyknows 5mo ago
  HTML editions from the two sites contrast interestingly: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1513/pg1513-images.html https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1513/pg1513-images.html https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/romeo-and-juliet/text https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/romeo-... Each has its particular advantages relative to the other ...
  - svat 5mo ago
    Curious, what are the advantages you see in each relative to the other? Also one should probably compare the former to the single-page version on standardebooks: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/romeo-and-juliet/text/single-page https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/romeo-...
    - swores 5mo ago
      Personally I find the formatting used by the Gutenberg one to be a lot nicer/easier to read, despite (or perhaps because of) being simpler, more plain. At least for the first few pages of content that I looked at on both versions.
- robin_reala 5mo ago
  To be precise, the vast majority of SE is from Gutenberg, but we also source from Faded Page, Gutenberg Australia, Wikisource and occasionally do our own transcriptions.
cstever 5mo ago
No money for them.
WillAdams 5mo ago
Used to be one could sort of get that with the Project Librivox: https://librivox.org/ https://librivox.org/ e-book app Gutebooks (in addition to their audio app), but it seems to have been deprecated (I'm no longer able to connect to the server on my copy (which I only got 'cause there was an in-app purchase to fund Project Librivox). FWIW, Barnes & Noble has been plundering the public domain using a book composition/keying house in the Philippines to make their public domain books which they make available in their stores --- Amazon apparently has a similar setup for the Kindle Store: https://www.amazon.com/Public-Domain-Books-Kindle-Store/s?k=Public+Domain+Books https://www.amazon.com/Public-Domain-Books-Kindle-Store/s?k=... Rather a shame that PG didn't monetize by putting their books up there pre-emptively.
- JSeiko 5mo ago
  the way I see it PG is a labor of love. Bit odd if Barnes & Noble or whoever piggyback off it. But in the end - the more people read the books, the better.
  - WillAdams 5mo ago
    It is a public good, and it would be appropos if corporations would support it directly rather than work at cross-purposes to it. If Amazon is going to sell public domain texts, then it would make sense to source them from PG, and fund some money from those sales to the non-profit, similarly, they could then funnel reports of typos to PG for review and correction (it was a bit of a struggle the last time I tried to get a text corrected, and the project founder/director actually stepped in on my behalf).
    - JSeiko 5mo ago
      that would be great! Sadly I'm not very confident that that will actually happen ...
      - WillAdams 5mo ago
        Needs new legislation where the commons/public domain have public benefit corporations appointed as the manager of said resource.
daveoc64 5mo ago
You can download books directly from the Project Gutenberg website using the web browser on most eBook readers - even the Kindle supports it.
- moichael 5mo ago
  Yep! This is how I get all my books on Kindle! For me, I choose the 'older Kindles' option and it downloads directly to my homepage.
jrmg 5mo ago
If you don’t strip the Project Gutenberg license from the book text (leaving only the book text, which no-one disputes is public domain and freely distributable), you are required to give “pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes” https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html [Way back in the early days of the iPhone, I sold a book reading app which was backed directly by Project Gutenberg texts, called “Eucalyptus”. I sent 20% of the gross profits to PG - which was never less than very supportive of the app - and felt good about doing so.]
BHSPitMonkey 5mo ago
On any device you can install KOReader, PG is one of the default options in the builtin OPDS browser. https://koreader.rocks/ https://koreader.rocks/
zachjesus 4mo ago
I am actually working on this right now. If you would like to test it, you may download Thorium reader and add the catalog http://pgnew.pglaf.org:8000/opds/ http://pgnew.pglaf.org:8000/opds/
- zachjesus 4mo ago
  We also have an older OPDS 1.0 (the one I sent is the newer, 2.0 standard) catalog but it isn’t the best to use. It’s still a WIP, but very close to being finished.

JSeiko 5mo ago

I've heard that the newest Kobo e-readers have a browser that you could use to go to gutenberg.org and directly download files. but yes, generally I agree with your point. Library of 75k books seems pretty valuable to have direct access to.

GaryBluto 5mo ago

Most of them offer their own paid storefronts and have a perverse incentive not to offer a large area full of free books.

JSeiko 5mo ago
probably true. Maybe an true open-source eReader should exist.
- WillAdams 5mo ago
  Arguably https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=biz.bookdesign.gutebooks https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=biz.bookdesign... should ~~be~~ EDIT have been ENDEDIT opensource --- it does at least work to support Project Librivox (or at least that's my understanding) Seems to no longer be available (see below)
  - JSeiko 5mo ago
    I'm getting "We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server." if I go to the link
    - WillAdams 5mo ago
      I believe the app is discontinued and the reason I can see the page is that I am on record as having downloaded it.
- dgellow 5mo ago
  They do exist, since a pretty long time. I bought a pocketbook beginning 2010s. https://pocketbook.ch https://pocketbook.ch. If you mean epub reader software Calibre and a bunch of others exist since pretty much the beginning of epub

horsawlarway 5mo ago

I've used https://standardebooks.org/ https://standardebooks.org/ to pull nicely formatted Project Gutenberg books on any e-reader that supports a browser (in my case, Boox). Technically, I can also just directly pull the epub from Project Gutenberg, but sometimes the formatting leaves a lot to be desired. Once you get an e-reader that runs a semi-capable OS (ex - stock android, even an older version), it's hard to go back to something like a kindle.

JSeiko 5mo ago
standardebooks.org is great!
everybodyknows 5mo ago
HTML editions from the two sites contrast interestingly: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1513/pg1513-images.html https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1513/pg1513-images.html https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/romeo-and-juliet/text https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/romeo-... Each has its particular advantages relative to the other ...
- svat 5mo ago
  Curious, what are the advantages you see in each relative to the other? Also one should probably compare the former to the single-page version on standardebooks: https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/romeo-and-juliet/text/single-page https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/romeo-...
  - swores 5mo ago
    Personally I find the formatting used by the Gutenberg one to be a lot nicer/easier to read, despite (or perhaps because of) being simpler, more plain. At least for the first few pages of content that I looked at on both versions.
robin_reala 5mo ago
To be precise, the vast majority of SE is from Gutenberg, but we also source from Faded Page, Gutenberg Australia, Wikisource and occasionally do our own transcriptions.

cstever 5mo ago

No money for them.

WillAdams 5mo ago

Used to be one could sort of get that with the Project Librivox: https://librivox.org/ https://librivox.org/ e-book app Gutebooks (in addition to their audio app), but it seems to have been deprecated (I'm no longer able to connect to the server on my copy (which I only got 'cause there was an in-app purchase to fund Project Librivox). FWIW, Barnes & Noble has been plundering the public domain using a book composition/keying house in the Philippines to make their public domain books which they make available in their stores --- Amazon apparently has a similar setup for the Kindle Store: https://www.amazon.com/Public-Domain-Books-Kindle-Store/s?k=Public+Domain+Books https://www.amazon.com/Public-Domain-Books-Kindle-Store/s?k=... Rather a shame that PG didn't monetize by putting their books up there pre-emptively.

JSeiko 5mo ago
the way I see it PG is a labor of love. Bit odd if Barnes & Noble or whoever piggyback off it. But in the end - the more people read the books, the better.
- WillAdams 5mo ago
  It is a public good, and it would be appropos if corporations would support it directly rather than work at cross-purposes to it. If Amazon is going to sell public domain texts, then it would make sense to source them from PG, and fund some money from those sales to the non-profit, similarly, they could then funnel reports of typos to PG for review and correction (it was a bit of a struggle the last time I tried to get a text corrected, and the project founder/director actually stepped in on my behalf).
  - JSeiko 5mo ago
    that would be great! Sadly I'm not very confident that that will actually happen ...
    - WillAdams 5mo ago
      Needs new legislation where the commons/public domain have public benefit corporations appointed as the manager of said resource.

daveoc64 5mo ago

You can download books directly from the Project Gutenberg website using the web browser on most eBook readers - even the Kindle supports it.

moichael 5mo ago
Yep! This is how I get all my books on Kindle! For me, I choose the 'older Kindles' option and it downloads directly to my homepage.

jrmg 5mo ago

If you don’t strip the Project Gutenberg license from the book text (leaving only the book text, which no-one disputes is public domain and freely distributable), you are required to give “pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes” https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html [Way back in the early days of the iPhone, I sold a book reading app which was backed directly by Project Gutenberg texts, called “Eucalyptus”. I sent 20% of the gross profits to PG - which was never less than very supportive of the app - and felt good about doing so.]

BHSPitMonkey 5mo ago

On any device you can install KOReader, PG is one of the default options in the builtin OPDS browser. https://koreader.rocks/ https://koreader.rocks/

zachjesus 4mo ago

I am actually working on this right now. If you would like to test it, you may download Thorium reader and add the catalog http://pgnew.pglaf.org:8000/opds/ http://pgnew.pglaf.org:8000/opds/

zachjesus 4mo ago
We also have an older OPDS 1.0 (the one I sent is the newer, 2.0 standard) catalog but it isn’t the best to use. It’s still a WIP, but very close to being finished.