September 13, 2006

I Read Out-Of-Copyright Banned Books Too

Google is marking Banned Books Week (September 23-30) with a "Celebrate Your Freedom to Read" page featuring a group of banned and "challenged" twentieth-century classics. Yes, 1984 is there. No, not all of it. Just "limited preview" starting on page 329, which you can read if you sign in using a Google account.

Google's Celebrate Your Freedom Etc. page neglects to mention that well-known books, once out of copyright, are usually free in the money sense. Cf. Project Gutenberg... The Online Books Page... or Bartleby. A non-U.S. reader can get free Orwell and even a U.S. reader can get full texts of Twain, Joyce, and much more.

Posted by Martha Bridegam at September 13, 2006 02:42 PM
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