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FREE BOOKS
From
Serendipity Systems

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2004 FILES

PDF format
You need to have the Adobe Reader program installed on your computer to use PFD files.

The Virginian
By Owen Wister
The password for the Wister book is -- trampas

2003 FILES
(And earlier)

Note: Some of the links below may have subsequent links which lead to dead ends. We therefore recommend that you open the .htm files in a separate window so that, if you do hit a dead link, you can merely close out the window to return to your previous place. The .exe (Windows-compatible book files,) .lit (Microsoft Reader files,) .rb (Rocket eBook files,) and .mp3 (Audio book files) should be downloaded to your hard drive using your "Save target as" button. The "read on-line" books below work fine, but some of the graphics below the index are missing in the Montgomery book. (The book itself is complete.)

Windows-compatible format

Self-contained EXE files display eBook text.
(Require Windows 95 & Internet Explorer 4.0 [or newer versions] on your computer.)

NOTE: The Virginian and Christmas Carol links go to information pages where there are links to the EXE file. The other links go directly to EXE files.
Use your "Save to disc" option to save the EXE files to your hard disk.

The Virginian
By Owen Wister

* * *

O Pioneers! By W. Cather

A Christmas Carol By C. Dickens

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain

A Tramp Abroad By Mark Twain

The Old Curiosity Shop By Charles Dickens

Microsoft Reader format

Files in LIT format require the Microsoft Reader program or a suitable device.

Lost World By A. C. Doyle

A Tramp Abroad By Mark Twain

Rocket eBook format

RB format files require a Rocket eBook or an emulator.
Note: These files will not run on a Gemstar/RCA Reb 1100.

The Virginian By O. Wister

Read on-line books

Read right here!

The Old Curiosity Shop By Charles Dickens

Anne of Green Gables By L. Montgomery

MP3 format

UPDATE

Sorry, these MP3 files are no longer available.

We are experimenting with the MP3 format for read-by-the-computer books. The file below is an excerpt from Marian Allen's science fiction novel, Sideshow. This is a large file, almost 10MB in size, so it will take a long time to download if you have a slow connection. To listen to the file, you will need a multi-media player capable of playing MP3 files, or a stand-alone program to do this (such as WinAmp,) or an MP3 device into which you can load the file.

We estimate that an MP3 file of the entire novel will involve eleven hours of reading time. A file of that size would have to be sent out on a CD-ROM disc because the average user does not have access to a sufficiently fast Internet connection. Even a chapter-per-MP3 set of files would be too large for Internet distrubution. Stay tuned to this location for further developments.

UPDATE - June 29th

It takes the computer about 42 minutes to read the above file. For those of you who want to check out this read-by-the-computer experiment, but have slow internet connections, we have put together an abreviated version of the Sideshow excerpt. The version below is about 7 minutes long, and the file size is about 1.7MB.

A complete copy of Marian Allen's novel is available in Windows-compatible, Microsoft Reader, and Rocket eBook (Gemstar) formats. For ordering information, visit out catalog page.

We welcome your comments on this experiment. Send mail to: Editors@the-curiosity-shop.com

Free eBooks from other locations--select here.

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