[DTB-Talk] From Defective by Design: a Guide to DRM-Free Literature

[dandrews920 at comcast.net]

https://www.defectivebydesign.org/guide/ebooks


Guide to DRM-Free Living: Literature



DRM-free


 <https://www.defectivebydesign.org/guide/ebooks> Literature ·  <https://www.defectivebydesign.org/guide/video> Video ·  <https://www.defectivebydesign.org/guide/audio> Audio 
 <http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Main_Page#Query_or_Browse> Software (external) 


DRM-encumbered


 <https://www.defectivebydesign.org/guide/worst-offenders> Worst offenders 

		

 <http://www.defectivebydesign.org/drm-free> 

Welcome to the guide to living DRM-free. Please submit corrections and new items for the guide by adding it to the  <http://libreplanet.org/wiki/Group:Defective_by_Design/Ideas/Guide> LibrePlanet wiki (you will need to  <http://libreplanet.org/wiki?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Main_Page> register and login first) or emailing us at  <mailto:info at defectivebydesign.org> info at defectivebydesign.org.

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We recommend that you always read ebooks using  <http://calibre-ebook.com/> Calibre or some other free software ereader to avoid software surveillance and remote kill switches in proprietary ereaders. Also be sure to get your ebooks and literature not only without DRM, but also in a  <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_format> free format, preferably  <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPUB> EPUB. While  <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Document_Format> PDF is also free, it is less ideal for ebook viewing, reflowing, and editing. The sites listed provide files unencumbered, but it's important to be mindful that both of these can still contain DRM elsewhere.


Crowdfunding, Community, & Self-Publishing Platforms


*	 <http://www.leanpub.com> Leanpub -- Used by authors and publishers to publish amazing in-progress and completed books.
*	 <http://www.lulu.com/shop> LuLu -- is one of the largest ebook self-publishing stores on the web. 
*	 <https://nantucketebooks.com/> Nantucket E-Books is a storefront and publishing platform for independent authors, centered around its own markup language and GNU LibreJS-compatible reader and book editor.
*	 <https://www.pastemagazine.com/noisetrade/books/> Noisetrade Books is a publishing platform sponsored by Paste Magazine that has a large selection of no-cost and DRM-free ebooks from a wide variety of independent authors.
*	 <http://smashwords.com> Smashwords -- sells ebooks from independent authors.
*	 <http://storybundle.com> StoryBundle -- sells bundles of independent ebooks using a pay-what-you-want pricing scheme.
*	 <https://unglue.it/> Unglue.it -- crowdfunds DRM-free books, some under free culture licenses. 
*	 <https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page> Wikibooks -- Aimed at supplying educational textbooks. 
*	 <https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Main_Page> Wikisource -- A collection of documentation (eBooks). 
*	 <http://www.xinxii.com> XinXii -- Europe's leading indie eBook self-publishing and distribution platform with 20,000 DRM-free eBooks (every day, numerous titles are added), 10,000+ independent authors and publishers from all over the world, and is available in 7 languages and 3 currencies


Literary Archives & Libraries


*	 <http://theanarchistlibrary.org/special/index> The Anarchist Library An archive focusing on anarchism, anarchist texts, and texts of interest for anarchists, in PDF, plaintext, and EPUB formats.
*	 <http://www.bookyards.com/> Bookyards library has ebooks and other items. eBooks are PDF. 
*	 <https://centurypast.org> Century Past Library is a site aggregating links to many public domain books of historical and scientific interest, as well as magazines and other periodicals. While we cannot recommend the books and articles that make use of the Internet Archive's DRM-restricted borrowing service, the majority of the works listed here are available free of charge as PDF downloads.
*	 <http://www.digilibraries.com/> DigiLibraries -- No cost eBooks library, with over 20.000 Free eBooks. 
*	 <http://www.dunyazad-library.net/> The Dunyazad Digital Library is a personal collection of DRM-free ebooks of history and adventure. 
*	 <https://ebooks.com> Ebooks.com has DRM-free ebooks as well as ones restricted with DRM. However, you can filter search results to only show you the DRM-free ones.
*	 <http://www.e-booksdirectory.com/> E-Books Directory -- No cost eBooks, documents, and lectures from all over the internet, available in PDF format and organized by subjects.
*	 <http://www.free-ebooks.net/> Free-ebooks.net -- Free eBooks in various formats. 
*	 <http://www.freetamilebooks.com> Free Tamil eBooks -- No cost eBooks in the Tamil language.
*	 <https://www.globalgreyebooks.com/> Global Grey -- DRM-free libre and public domain eBooks in several formats. 
*	 <http://archive.org/details/texts> Internet Archive: Text -- Free Books from a variety of sources, most available as scanned PDFs and OCRed plain text. More that 2,000,000 books available. Please note that we do not recommend their eBook lending program, which is DRM-encumbered and managed through a non-free client.
*	 <http://www.sacred-texts.com/> Internet Sacred Text Archive -- Books about religion, mythology, folklore and the esoteric. 
*	 <http://www.loc.gov/index.html> Library of Congress -- Historical books, images, and music from America. Books are normally scanned to PDF but the text is often available on-line. 
*	 <http://manybooks.net/> ManyBooks.net -- No charge eBooks, in a variety of formats, mostly from Project Gutenberg. They provide excerpts and sometimes a book description. They allow readers to leave book reviews. 
*	 <http://marxists.org/> Marxists Internet Archive -- Books and articles by hundreds of writers, Marxist and non-Marxist. Some of the books have an option of PDF download, but the PDF version is the webpage printed to a PDF file and thus not very suitable for most ebook readers. 
*	 <http://www.mutopiaproject.org/> Mutopia hosts thousands pieces of music – free to download, modify, print, copy, distribute, perform, and record – all in the Public Domain or under Creative Commons licenses, in PDF, MIDI and other formats.
*	 <http://www.obooko.com/> OBOOKO -- Hundreds of ebooks for direct download at no charge. Fiction and non-fiction. Authors may publish books on the site free of charge. 
*	 <http://www.planetebook.com/> Planet eBook -- Free classic literature that has fallen out of copyright. Available in PDF format. 
*	 <http://www.pdfbooksworld.com> PDFBooksWorld -- Distributes public domain books in PDF format. 
*	 <http://www.gutenberg.org/> Project Gutenberg is the original purveyor of DRM-free eBooks. The project aims to encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks that will be readable on any device you choose. When you obtain an eBook, you should not be locked into using one particular eBook reader. Instead, you should have the freedom to read that book on any device. All of the material available through Project Gutenberg is free of charge, including the complete works of William Shakespeare, Peter Pan, and the United States Declaration of Independence.
*	 <http://gutenberg.net.au/> Project Gutenberg Australia -- Provides books that are public domain in Australia. 
*	 <http://www.gutenberg.ca/> Project Gutenberg Canada -- Canada has different copyright laws than the US. These eBooks are public domain in Canada. Content is HTML and TXT. 
*	 <http://runeberg.org/> Project Runeberg is a volunteer effort to create free electronic editions of classic Nordic (Scandinavian) literature and make them openly available over the Internet. 
*	 <http://www.publicbookshelf.com/> PublicBookshelf -- Over 540 books to read using a built-in, easy-to-read book format, specializing in all types of romance books including classics and contemporary. 
*	 <http://extra.shu.ac.uk/emls/iemls/resour/mirrors/rbear/ren.htm> Renascence Editions specializes in English works written between 1477 and 1799. PDF or HTML, generally, and an excellent source for works in Early Modern English. 
*	 <https://snewd.com/> Snewd -- A great source of professionally edited public domain texts in a variety of ebook formats. 
*	 <https://standardebooks.org/> Standard Ebooks - Produces new and attractive editions of ebooks sourced from Project Gutenberg with additional proofing, using modern typography, updated font kerning, and in the latest ebook formats. 
*	 <http://smart.study/blog/1000-open-textbooks-and-learning-resources-for-all-subjects/> Smart Study post with more than 1,000 open textbooks and learning resources for various subjects
*	 <https://www.epubbooks.com/> epubBooks offers gratis books, with a focus on high-quality formatting and images that work reliably on a variety of devices.


Book stores


*	 <http://www.beam-ebooks.de/> Beam Book Store sells DRM-free books in German. Some books are distributed with a buyer-unique watermark, although this watermark does not limit book usage.
*	 <http://bookviewcafe.com/> Book View Café sells ebooks without DRM or an EULA
*	 <https://bundleofholding.com> The Bundle of Holding is a DRM-free bookselling site that sells time-limited, DRM-free offers of tabletop roleplaying game rulebook .PDFs and RPG-related ebooks.
*	 <http://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/series/CHISH.html> Chicago Shorts, DRM-free ebooks, passages and short stories selected by the University of Chicago.
*	 <http://www.closed-circle.net/> Closed Circle -- Small DRM-free ebook store, direct from the authors themselves. Specializing in fantasy.
*	 <http://delphiclassics.com/> Delphi Classics sells copies of classic texts edited and formatted as ebooks. All epub files are DRM-free, but not the .mobi files.
*	 <http://www.edicionesbabylon.es/> Ediciones Babylon -- Spanish books and ebooks free of DRM.
*	 <http://www.fleuruseditions.com/> Editions Fleurus is a French publishing house with over 1000 titles available. 
*	 <http://esspc-ebooks.com/> Elegant Solutions Software and Publishing Company -- eBooks in a few portable formats. 
*	 <http://ebooks.thefifthimperium.com/> The Fifth Imperium CD-ROM images. Mostly the images are of the free CD-ROMs included with some Baen Books. Baen Books allows the CD-ROMs to be copied and distributed for free. Every CD-ROM contains several complete novels in HTML format, and some have extras, like MP3 readings. All CD-ROMs also contain artwork for the CD-ROM itself. 
*	 <http://girlebooks.com/> Girlebooks is a resource for classic and contemporary ebooks by female writers. 
*	 <https://www.humblebundle.com/books/> Humble Bundle (Books) sells collections of DRM-free ebooks, with two bundles available at any point in time. While they also sell games and mobile apps, these are not reliably DRM-free and we reccomend checking in detail before making any purchases.
*	 <http://www.immateriel.fr/> Immatériel.fr -- a French distributor of ebooks that indicates DRM-free titles with smiley faces. 
*	 <https://j-novel.club/> J-Novel Club distributes translated Japanese light novels and manga without DRM.
*	 <https://lektu.com/> Lektu is a Spanish-language DRM-free ebook store. In addition to books, it has audiobooks, ecomics, and music.
*	 <https://www.suomalainen.com/collections/kirjat/tuotemuoto-e-kirja> Suomalainen Kirjakauppa is a Finnish-language bookseller that uses watermarks on the first page of ebook purchases rather than DRM.
*	 <https://book.mynavi.jp/> MyNavi is a DRM-free storefront for Japanese-language books, including books on programming, shogi strategy, and tsumego.
*	 <http://bookstore.gpo.gov/ebooks> U.S. Government Bookstore offers both print and DRM-free digital publications from across the entire US federal government, ranging from art and travel to business, education, and history.
*	 <https://www.versobooks.com/> Verso is a popular British publisher of critical theory texts. Their books are DRM-free, but they are watermarked.
*	 <http://weightlessbooks.com/> Weightless Books is an independent DRM-free ebooksite devoted to ebooks of all sorts.


Publishers


*	 <http://www.0s-1s.com/> 0s&1s is both a digital publisher and a distributor of e-books published by twenty-seven different independent presses in the United States and Canada—including Black Balloon Publishing, Coach House Books, Red Hen Press, and Tin House Books.
*	 <https://www.angryrobotbooks.com/help-with-ordering/#ebook-formats> Angry Robot sells a variety of DRM-free science fiction and fantasy novels
*	 <http://www.apress.com> Apress is a publisher of IT-related technical books. .
*	 <http://www.baenebooks.com/> Baen Ebooks sells DRM-free ebooks from an assortment of science fiction and fantasy publishers, including Baen Books, Del Rey, and Tor. They also offer a number of no-cost downloads in their " <http://www.baen.com/library/> Free Library".
*	 <https://www.belial.fr/%20> Le Bélial is a French publishing platform free of DRM.
*	 <https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/> Blackstone Publishing releases DRM-free books through a variety of retailers.
*	 <https://bookrefine.com/> BookRefine is a DRM-free publisher that takes a strong stance against copyright trolling and sending DMCA takedown notices.
*	 <https://bossfightbooks.com/> Boss Fight Books publishes DRM-free, documentary-style books about classic video games.
*	 <http://www.bragelonne.fr/> Bragelonne will provide a DRM-free download of their ebooks for customers who first purchased it through a DRM service.
*	 <http://www.bwb.co.nz/texts> BWB Texts is a New Zealand-based publisher.
*	 <http://carinapress.com/> Carina Press is a digital-first imprint from Harlequin covering many genres.
*	 <http://www.flatworldknowledge.com/> Flat World Knowledge is the world's largest publisher of free and open college textbooks. 
*	 <https://goalpublications.com/> Goal Publications is a queer-owned publisher of young adult literature, catering specifically to the furry fandom.
*	 <https://homelessbook.it/> Homeless Book is a DRM-free publisher offering a wide range of books on politics and political theory in Italian.
*	 <http://www.insideoutsider.co.uk/> Inside Outsider Publications specializes in publishing fiction which deals with environmental and social issues.
*	 <http://www.liberliber.it/online/> Liber Liber is a non-profit publisher of Italian-language ebooks.
*	 <https://lostartpress.com/> Lost Art Press is a small Midwestern publishing company that seeks to help the modern woodworker learn traditional hand-tool skills. They sell boutique hard copies as well as DRM-free PDF downloads of nearly all of their books.
*	 <https://www.manning.com/ebooks> Manning eBooks publishes computer books for professionals--programmers, system administrators, designers, architects, managers and others. 
*	 <http://newint.org/> New Internationalist is a not-for-profit cooperative "exist[ing] to report on the issues of world poverty and inequality; to focus attention on the unjust relationship between the powerful and powerless worldwide; to debate and campaign for the radical changes necessary to meet the basic needs of all; and to bring to life the people, the ideas and the action in the fight for global justice."
*	 <https://www.nostarch.com/> No Starch Press publishes and sells DRM-free ebooks on a wide range of non-fiction topics and howto guides. It's also the publisher of  <https://nostarch.com/ada-zangemann> Ada & Zangemann, a book introducing software freedom concepts to children of all ages.
*	 <http://www.orbooks.com/> OR Books -- is a progressive anti-DRM publisher
*	 <http://www.packtpub.com/> Packt Publishing has DRM-free books for IT professionals.
*	 <http://pragprog.com/> The Pragmatic Bookshelf has DRM-free books by and for programmers in a variety of formats.
*	 <https://www.propagandayayinlari.net/english.html> Propaganda Yayınları is an independent publishing house specializing in Turkish languages works on political and socioeconomic issues, including feminism, anarchism, economics, and philosophy.
*	 <http://www.publie.net/> Publie.net is a French publisher that offers most titles DRM-free displaying a smiley face icon.
*	 <https://www.rockynook.com> Rocky Nook is digital photography-focused publisher that offers all ebooks without DRM.
*	 <http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com> Rosenfeld Media sells DRM-free ebooks about user experience design and also includes a DRM-free digital copy with every physical book they sell.
*	 <http://sagapress.com/> Saga Press is a sci-fi and fantasy imprint of Simon & Schuster. Their ebooks are all DRM-free.
*	 <https://www.shermusic.com/> Sher Music Co. publishes jazz and Latin music real books and method books, and their ebooks are DRM-free.
*	 <http://www.signal8press.com/> SIGNAL 8 PRESS is a publishing company focusing on East Asia and the Pacific Rim which publishes engaging novels, short story collections, and nonfiction written in English. 
*	 <http://www.sophiainstitute.com/> Sophia Institute Press publishes faithful Catholic classics and new Catholic books by the enduring figures of the Catholic intellectual tradition.
*	 <http://www.springer.com/> Springer Science+Business Media is an international publisher of books on science, technology, and medicine.
*	 <http://www.startrekbooks.com/> Star Trek Books is a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster. Their ebooks are all DRM-free.
*	 <http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/> Take Control Books offers highly practical, tightly focused ebooks covering Apple products.
*	 <http://www.tor.com/> Tor/Forge/Tom Doherty Associates -- Science fiction and fantasy publisher of Macmillan, sells DRM-free books.
*	 <http://xmlpress.net/> XML Press is a publisher of technical communications books whose ebooks are all DRM-free.
*	 <http://zubaanbooks.com> Zubaan Books is an Indian feminist publishing house that sells DRM-free materials.


Audiobooks


*	 <https://audiobooksnow.com> Audiobooksnow has a collection of audiobooks, with over 95% of them available DRM-free.
*	 <http://www.downpour.com/> Downpour sells DRM-free audiobooks in MP3 format, although audio book rentals require the use of its proprietary mobile application.
*	 <https://estories.com/> eStories is the audiobook imprint of eMusic, a DRM-free subscription service that we also recommend, and for a monthly fee provides audiobooks that are all completely DRM-free.
*	 <http://www.languageaudiobooks.com/> Language Audiobooks is offers a variety of versatile language programs and downloads.
*	 <http://www.learnoutloud.com/> Learn Out Loud is an audio eBook store where users can purchase CDs or MP3 downloads of books, ranging from educational non-fiction to classic fiction like Herman Hesse's Siddhartha.
*	 <http://librivox.org/> LibriVox is a wonderful archive of audio eBooks, completely free from DRM. Highlights include recordings of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz, and Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland.
*	 <https://libro.fm> libro.fm is a purveyor of audiobooks. Files from libro.fm are directly downloadable, though they also have an app which may not be free software.
*	 <http://www.naxosaudiobooks.com/> Naxos Audiobooks -- A variety of contemporary and classical audio books, without DRM and in the MP3 format.
*	 <https://bookdoreille.com/fr/titres-gratuits> Book D'Oreille -- French language audio books, sans DRM.
*	 <https://scribl.com/info/podiobooks-now-scribl/> Podiobooks/Scribl -- Audiobooks that are are free to download and share.
*	 <http://alexwilson.com/telltale/> Telltale Weekly is a one-stop source for audiobooks, including the work of Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, H.G. Wells and Edgar Allen Poe. Starting from $1, enjoy these beautiful readings of classic stories. What's more, every file is free of DRM and guaranteed to play on any music player you own. Accepts payments in PayPal or BitPass.


Individual Authors and Books


*	 <http://anarchism.pageabode.com/afaq/index.html> An Anarchist FAQ A comprehensive introduction into the philosophy of anti-authoritarianism and anarchism. Licensed under the GNU FDL.
*	 <http://anna-galore.com/> Anna Galore A french writer who offers most of her novels and short stories DRM-free.
*	 <http://www.blakecrouch.com/> Blake Crouch is a suspense writer who has made it to the top ten Kindle bestseller list. 
*	 <http://craphound.com/> Craphound -- Author's site. Fiction and non-fiction by Cory Doctorow. 
*	 <http://www.dianeduane.com/> Diane Duane wrote the 'So You Want to be a Wizard' series and sells copies of not only the original published version but also a new updated version which is only available at her site.
*	 <http://greencomet.org/downloads/> Green Comet a novel of love and adventure on an inhabited comet, and its sequel, Parasite Puppeteers, are available to download in various formats, including ePub and OGG under the free culture CC-BY-SA license.
*	 <http://www.ipv6-handbuch.de/> IPv6-Handbuch is a small German ebook shop selling books on IPv6.
*	 <http://www.jakonrath.com/> J.A. Konrath is an author of detective novels and suspense novels.
*	 <https://kanikag.com/> Kanika G self-publishes DRM-free children's books.
*	 <http://libreleft.com/estore/> Libreleft Books publishes Laurel L. Russwurm's free culture licensed mystery novels.
*	 <http://paigrain.debatpublic.net/?page_id=11> Philippe Aigrain is an internet activist involved with La Quadrature du Net.
*	 <http://www.lessig.org/> Lessig.org Lawrence Lessig's author page, whereat his eBooks may be freely downloaded. 
*	 <https://roryprice.net/2020/05/01/opt-out/> Rory Price has written a DRM-free novel with software freedom as a major theme.
*	 <http://www.spacejock.com.au/> Simon Hayes writes the popular comedic space opera ‘Hal Spacejock’ and the 'Hal Junior' series.
*	 <http://www.storiesformylittlesister.com/> Stories for My Little Sister -- Free original kids' books written and illustrated by a team of two sisters. These are available for children of all ages. 
*	 <http://www.withouthotair.com/download.html> Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air by David MacKay -- A readable discussion (with actual metrics!) of our options for energy development.
*	 <http://thomasaknight.com> Thomas A. Knight is an independant, self-publishing author of fantasy novels, all available for purchase DRM Free.
*	 <https://thomas-galvin.com/> Thomas Galvin is self-described as being "an author who spends far too much time thinking about vampires" and you can find his works on his website.


Graphic Novels & Comic Books


*	 <http://comicbookplus.com/> Comic Book Plus -- Comic books in CBR/CBZ. Requires free registration. 
*	 <http://comicsfu.com/> Comics Fu is a platform for creating digital comic stores.
*	 <http://dynamite.com/digital/> Dynamite Entertainment sells DRM-free comics and graphic novels.
*	 <http://panelsyndicate.com/> Panel Syndicate is a pay-what-you want website for comics by artist Marcos Martin and writer Brian K. Vaughan. 
*	 <http://www.rebellionstore.com/> Rebellion Publishing is a digital publisher of ebooks, graphic novels, and comic books.
*	 <http://thrillbent.com/shop/> Thrillbent is a digital comics site created by award-winning comics writer Mark Waid and television writer/producer extraordinaire John Rogers.


Reference and educational materials


*	 <http://bookboon.com/> BookBoon publishes over 200 textbooks that students can download totally for free. 
*	 <http://www.lightandmatter.com/> Light and Matter -- Introductory physics textbooks in available in HTML and PDF. Released under both Creative Commons and the GFDL. 
*	 <http://linear.ups.edu/index.html> Linear Algebra, A first course -- A free linear algebra textbook available in PDF and released under the GFDL. 
*	 <http://learning.photography/> Michael Willems Photography -- DRM-free photography teaching books. Use discount code “FSF” for a 15% checkout discount.
*	 <http://joshua.smcvt.edu/linearalgebra/> Linear Algebra -- A free linear algebra textbook in PDF format. Licensed under both Creative Commons and the GFDL. 
*	 <http://www.motionmountain.net/> Motion Mountain -- Free physics textbook available in PDF. Released under Creative Commons. 
*	 <http://www.openedition.org/14043?lang=en> OpenEdition -- free academic books and journals in HTML format
*	 <http://openstaxcollege.org/books> OpenStax College is a nonprofit organization committed to improving student access to quality learning materials. They provide free textbooks, developed and peer-reviewed by educators to ensure they are readable and accurate. 
*	 <http://www.techbooksforfree.com/> TechBooksForFree.com -- Free programming and computer science books. 
*	 <https://www.wikiversity.org/> Wikiversity is a Wikimedia Foundation project devoted to learning resources, learning projects, and research for use in all levels, types, and styles of education from pre-school to university, including professional training and informal learning. 


Journals and Magazines


*	 <http://www.2600.com/> 2600: The Hacker Quarterly, a magazine named after the 2600 Hz tone used in phreaking.
*	 <http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/> Classics in the History of Psychology -- Historically significant documents from the scholarly literature of psychology.