Project Gutenberg

I know that we all need things to read right now, but if you are finding full text versions of very new books on web sites that don't require a library card, you may be in violation of copyright law! To be on the safe side, and make sure authors get compensated for their intellectual property, make sure you have a public library card to use. 

Another fun option is Project Gutenberg. This is a website that has digitized copies of books for which U.S. copyright has expired, which is generally about 100 years after publication. Of course, many of these books are less than interesting to modern readers, and almost all of them will have moments where they reflect the dominant culture of their times in inappropriate and sometimes offensive ways. However, they can be really fascinating to read. 

Even though my blog focuses on the newest books, I could easily have spent the entire summer reading vintage titles. I need to pick up Alcott's

Here are the links to my top five titles mentioned in the video below:

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. 1879

Alcott, Louisa May. Eight Cousins. 1874

Baum, L. Frank. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. 1900

Penrose, Margaret. The Motor Girls (1910)

Hayes, Clair W. The Boy Allies at Liege; or, Through Lines of Steel. (1915)

Bonus fun! Watch me trying to hit the "stop record" button with my bifocals!

I got really interested in the order of the 23 Boy Allies books and finally found someone who had figured that out. I have e mailed and hope to have permission to post those lists soon.