eBooks About Everything is proud to be a Commercial Sponsor of the 3rd Annual World eBook Fair.

Doesn't seem possible that a year has gone by -- and yet, here it is again -- The World eBook Fair!

This year the theme is "Own Your Own Library".  And with a little time and patience you could, indeed, download a library of books to keep you busy reading for a lifetime!

The Fair keeps growing.  Last year it opened with over 666,000 downloadable, free titles.  This year there are over 1,000,000!

The 2008 Fair showcases contributions by 100-plus eLibraries from around the world.  There are books in every imaginable format and in over 100 languages.

The World eBook Fair is the brain child of Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg. Michael is the Godfather of eBooks.  He started Project Gutenberg in 1971 to encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks. His idea was really simple -- provide as many free eBooks in as many formats as possible for the entire world to read in as many languages as possible. Today Project Gutenberg has over 100,000 books available for download as well as Audio Books and digitized sheet music. 

While Michael is he founder of Project Gutenberg, the site has grown because of dedicated volunteers.  Thousands of people have converted text and proofread each file.  And  you are the ultimate beneficiary since you can download them all for free.

The latest addition to the Project Gutenberg site is their Wiki.  Check it out and offer your insights and reviews. Or better yet -- Donate your time and money.

I suppose that when the Fair talks about owning your own library this is NOT what they had in mind:

This amazing picture showed up on Boing Boing last week and was posted by Cory Doctorow.  Evidently when it comes to books, there is no end of creativity in this world!

I love this picture!  To do it full justice you need to go to the site and take a good look.

Go visit Project Gutenberg, download a few classics and spread the word!

del.icio.us Tags: ebooks,e-books,world eBook Fair,project gutengerg,free ebooks

Henri's Lament: The Death of the Sunday Morning Bookstore Run

Gigi and I used to go to the bookstore nearly every Sunday morning.

Obviously, we both read a lot. The biggest hour in our week was spent browsing the shelves of whatever bookstore we chose on that particular Sunday. That morning period was something we looked forward to with great anticipation on most weeks of the year.

Now it is over! She reads eBooks, and thinks that I am still stuck in the past.

I still get to the bookstore; I’ve been doing that since found out that I could buy a book in the used paperback store on Lake street in Minneapolis for a dime, back in the 1950’s. I haunt the used stores and the new stores whenever I can, but it’s not the same.

The used book stores are going now, disappearing every day. I went back to one last week and it was gone. So was the owner, disappeared into the past like the onsite book trade is threatening to these days. The new stores are not far behind. Some great ones have fallen in the last two years, in New York, Boston, Pasadena and San Francisco to name just a few places where I have lost old friends.

Sure I can use the Internet. I buy books there occasionally, but I still like the feel and smell of a real bookstore. Gigi on the other hand could care less; she buys all of her books eBooks About Everything.  At least it pays for her books and mine and a usually a little more. We started it on a whim and it has grown into a real, if small, Internet business.

But I don’t want to read eBooks!!!!!!! I don’t want to buy from Amazon.com or any of the other stores on the Internet that are demolishing the bookstores that I still frequent!!!! I am the man without hope because the way of life that brought me so much joy is disappearing. In every town I ever visited someone used to make a decent living selling books. New books, used books, great books, awful books and every kind in between were all available in those stores.

Too much joy and pain passed through my mind that was carried by the books I purchased in those stores for me to ever want to give them up for something on the Internet. The Internet cannot convey the smell and feel of walking into a different store with the dream of discovering a new author or an unread tome by a favorite writer.

An now, added to that, I am in mourning most of all for all of those wonderful Sunday mornings with my lovely wife spent together searching for books to read on a lazy summer afternoon.

del.icio.us Tags: ebooks,e-book,ebooks about everything,reading

The Decendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings

This book got to me, almost in spite of myself. . . I started it two weeks ago and had a very hard time with the first 100 pages (or so). My mind wandered, I feel asleep, I found something else to do. And then. . .

For some inexplicable reason, the book took hold of me and I was hooked. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. I guess that is the sign that it is a good book.

This is a book about family, death, forgiveness and real estate. Pretty much the whole gamut of life.

Matt King, the narrator of this book, has led a privileged life sheltered by money and heritage. And then, suddenly, a tragic boating accident shatters his illusions and forces him to look at his legacies: from his royal Hawaiian ancestors to his incredibly screwed up kids.

Matt’s rather dry, understated narration is alternatively hilarious and heart breaking as he wanders through his past and bumbles through his present. The accident wakes him up to his roles in his family – deficient father, blind spouse, reluctant heir.

I suppose that technically this book is a “downer” -- after all we are dealing with death, greed, adultery and messed up kids. Curiously, it was not. And some of the situations, especially with his daughter's "friend" are hilarious. In the end this book is more a celebration of life than anything else.

The publisher blurb says:

Narrated in a bold, fearless, hilarious voice and set against the lush, panoramic backdrop of Hawaii, The Descendants is a stunning debut novel about an unconventional family forced to come together and re-create its own legacy.

Matthew King was once considered one of the most fortunate men in Hawaii. His missionary ancestors were financially and culturally progressive-one even married a Hawaiian princess, making Matt a royal descendant and one of the state's largest landowners.

Now his luck has changed. His two daughters are out of control: Ten-year-old Scottie is a smart-ass with a desperate need for attention, and seventeen-year-old Alex, a former model, is a recovering drug addict. Matt's charismatic, thrill-seeking, high-maintenance wife, Joanie, lies in a coma after a boat-racing accident and will soon be taken off life support. The Kings can hardly picture life without her, but as they come to terms with this tragedy, their sadness is mixed with a sense of freedom that shames them-and spurs them into surprising actions.

Before honoring Joanie's living will, Matt must gather her friends and family to say their final goodbyes, a difficult situation made worse by the sudden discovery that there is one person who hasn't been told: the man with whom Joanie had been having an affair, quite possibly the one man she ever truly loved. Forced to examine what he owes not only to the living but to the dead, Matt takes to the road with his daughters to find his wife's lover, a memorable journey that leads to both painful revelations and unforeseen humor and growth.

Recommended!

World eBook Fair - 620,000 FREE eBooks

eBooks About Everything is proud to be a commerical sponser of the 2nd Annual World eBook Fair.

The World eBook Fair is the brain child of Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg. Michael was the creator of eBooks and started Project Gutenberg in 1971 to encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks. His idea was really simple -- provide as many free eBooks in as many formats as possible for the entire world to read in as many languages as possible. Today Project Gutenberg has over 100,000 books available for download.

The World eBook Fair is a logical extention of Michael's mission.

Last year on July 4 the first World eBook Fair opened with 1/3 of a million free eBooks. Over the next 30 days the fair gave away approximately 1 million eBooks a day! These books were primarily contriubted by the World eBook Library with special contributions by Baen Books and the DPPstore.

This year the list of contributors has grown along with the available titles -- 620,000 free books plus 110,000 commercial ebooks for a total of 730,000 eBooks! Here are some other interesting facts:

• eBooks in over 100 Different Languages!
• 125 collections to choose from
• Created by Contributions from 150+ eLibraries Around the World
• 1,000 eBooks for the One Laptop Per Child Computer as seen on "60 Minutes" just two weeks ago.
• 220,000 eBooks from The Internet Archive, (Open-Access Text Archive) Archive.org,

Go on over to the Fair to select your summer reading!