A Real Page-Turner (Media Meditation #4)

I love a good book. I’ve been building up my library for several years. I have modern favorites and several classics. Unfortunately, books are expensive, and as a college student I can’t afford to keep expanding my collection. I also can’t afford a Kindle (not that I would want one anyways).



Thankfully, in my internet wanderings I’ve come across several online book sites. These sites offer the text of classic literature in many forms, whether downloadable PDF or simple onsite viewing.

These are ebooks, “digital books accessed on a Web site and read on a computer” (pg. 328).

Planet eBook

This site is great because it has 62 books to read and the ability to download them in PDF form. They don’t have the book you’re looking for? Then you can suggest a book they should add to their growing list.

You can subscribe to the site’s newsletter and follow their blog. You can also support the site on other media outlets: they have links for StumbleUpon, Facebook, Digg, and more.

Read Print

This site, of the three featured here, has the most extensive selection of online books—over 8,000 books available. While they don’t use a PDF format, they have a cool ‘reading mode’ that dims the rest of the page and makes focusing on words easier.

Read Print has a community on Facebook that sees a fair amount of traffic and also uses Twitter.

Digital Classics

I like this site because of the unique set-up. They site is designed to look like a real bookshelf, which adds an air of tangibility.

Digital Classics is run by Zinio and they have their own easy-to-use reader.


All of these sites represent a technological shift. Instead of paper, ink, and glue, the books are all presented over the internet. There is also a reverse epistemological shift. Now, instead of surfing YouTube for funny videos, you can read online!

There's also an interesting aspect of ownership involved with these sites. Technically, these works are part of the public domain now. The copyrights for these works have all expired, allowing them to be published online like this freely.

The accessibility of classic literature online is great because it allows neocortical exercise every day. Reading is a great workout for the highly developed sections of your brain.



I love that these books are available online, which is “reviving books that would otherwise go out of print” (pg. 329). These websites are a great resource, one that I hope more and more people begin to use.