This is so amazing...I whopp-ied to see the original text and illustrations of Lewis Carroll and have the book read to me...:) I am sure everyone else has been as delighted.This is at the Virtual Library of British Council. And there are lots more ebooks there.
After reading about the Gutenberg project...I am more convinced that ever that a lot of things happen serendipitously.The books available here are free of charge and free, as in freedom-so u can do a lot of things with it...audio versions,new print versions,dramatic adaptations and even spamming!Very little u cannot do.However, this has to be in accordance with the copyright laws of the land(S'pore in our case).There is a lot of info about which books can be a part of this endeavour and how copyrights change not only by author changes but published changes too!All in all,it was very informative reading about the Gutenberg Project.
Interestingly enough,one can volunteer to proof-read pages of text which are being digitized.
I know about bookcrossing, where real books are available for free...but there are so many other sources for free books...it was mind-boggling...and exciting.
I do plan to get my students and friends to explore these sites.....
I have been quite impressed with the growing number of audio books at NLB.....not only is this a boon for the visually impaired but also for those ridden by nostalgia for those 'old days of bed time stories'. I wonder thought...doesn't listening to a book take away the visual element one associates with book reading? And can one focus as well on the storyline?Needless to say,I am a audiobook novice!
No comments:
Post a Comment