Free Entertainment: Reading the Classics

"And now for my next number, I'd like to return to the classics." -Often Used Rap Sample of Unknown Origin¹

I was recently given an Amazon Kindle for my birthday, which was great because it was exactly what I wanted. I figured I'd use some of the store credit that I've gotten up to this point to buy a few books and start reading. While searching around, I found out that there is an expansive group of books that are downloadable free to your Kindle device because they are currently in the public domain. That's not all though, here's the best part: Even if you don't own a Kindle don't worry, you can read all the classics I mention and many more for free on your computer as well using Amazon's cloud reader, which is free to download. This is all excellent news, because that means I can use my Amazon gift balance for more important things like dress socks.

It's fairly complicated to figure out when a literary work will enter the public domain, but a general rule of thumb to use is 50–70 years after the author's death. You'd probably be surprised how many works are actually available for free. Here's a list of a few I've read:

• The Great Gatsby (Amazon seems to be charging for it now. Sadface.)
• The Jungle Book
• The Art of War
• The Three Musketeers
• The Jungle² (not for the faint of heart)
• Heart of Darkness³
• Treasure Island

and a few more I've put on my list but haven't gotten to yet:

• Alice in Wonderland
• Don Quixote
• The Importance of Being Earnest
• and many many many many more...

Another excellent place to find ebooks that you can read on your computer or download to an e-reader is Project Gutenberg which has over 42,000 ebooks. If you do check them out and find them useful, I highly encourage you to donate to sustain the project here. As an added plus, Project Gutenberg is a 501(c)(3) organization so your donation is tax deductible. Another free source of ebooks is the Nook store by Barnes and Noble which can be read on any Nook, most tablets/phones and computers.

One last thing, I would advise staying away from sites that offer free books but then request credit card information, sign you up for some subscription or ask you to provide lots of personal information, there are much safer (and cheaper) ways of getting ebooks. Happy reading!

---

1. Unless you, dear reader, know the origin, in which case let me know in the comments because I spent 20 minutes searching for it on the internet instead of writing this post.
2. What's with old books and always starting with "The", same thing goes for classic rock bands. Like seriously.
3. Thank god that mondo-"The" list is over.