If you haven’t downloaded e-books before and would like to learn how, keep scrolling down this section to the last item, which takes you step by step through the process.

AUSTRALIAN LISTING OF FREE E-BOOKS

     Australia has consistently led the world in comprehensive listings of free English-language classics. I chalk it up to the lonely geographic positions of Australia and New Zealand, far from other English speaking nations. Whatever the reason, the following site lists first the best collections of free e-books in Australia and New Zealand. Then, if you keep scrolling down, you’ll find the best collections worldwide. The selection is top-notch. If it’s a classic and it’s not here, it probably doesn’t yet exist in e-book form.

http://www.e-book.com.au/freebooks.htm

FREE E-BOOK CLASSICS

     This smaller site has a nice selection of better known authors.

http://www.readprint.com/

SOURCE DOCUMENTS YOU CAN DOWNLOAD

     A vast directory of source documents on philosophy and religion, all available for free download. For example, you will find here the complete Confucian Analects and the writings of Aristotle and Camus.

http://ivzhao.com/plato/

FREE SHERLOCK HOLMES

     You can print out here, for free, all the “Holmes canon” no longer under copyright. I notice that they have selections that Readprint.com, listed above, does not have:

http://221bakerstreet.org/

     You can also find dozens of other sites by Holmes fans online. The following is a good one:

http://www.sherlockian.net/

BARTLEBY.COM

     BARTLEBY.COM is another good source of free e-books. I wasn't surprised to find the King James Bible or Shakespeare's works. They are widely available on the Internet for free, as are many standard reference books now out of copyright. (You have to pay for the new, copyrighted reference books with the latest information, as is only fair.)

     In addition, BARTLEBY.COM has a good selection of classic fiction and poetry, plus the entire 70-volume edition of HARVARD CLASSICS. A lot of people have paid a lot of money to have the HARVARD CLASSICS sitting on their bookshelves, in case they or their children should desire to uplift themselves by reading the greatest classics of Western civilization. And some determined souls have given themselves an in-depth education by working methodically through all 70 volumes. (Before your dreams get too rosy, try a sample book. They are not easy reading.) Find them here:

http://www.bartleby.com/strunk

     Home schoolers may be able to find scholarly commentary on these classics through Google. If you sample an e-book and think you'd like it in regular-book form, you can of course buy it or borrow it from your library. And if it's not on the library shelves - and it probably won't be - ask your librarian for an inter-library loan. These loans are free. All you have to do is ask.

     AND HERE'S TO FREE INTELLECTUAL UPLIFT!

IF YOU’RE NEW TO DOWNLOADING E-BOOKS

     An e-book does not of course arrive with black print on white paper. It's first downloaded into your computer, and you have a choice of what to do with it after that. E-books are easy to download: I've got the instructions on my website. First go to the Free Ezine Material on my Delightful Food site:

http://delightfulfood.com/FreeEzines/index.html

     Scroll down, past Inspirational and Food and Health, to the Internet section. The bottom item is, "Downloading An E-Book Into Your Computer." Highlight the article, then hit Control-P (print). Or, instead, highlight the article, hit Control-C (copy), go to your Microsoft Word program, and hit Control-V (paste). Either way the article is all yours now.