CONTENT: Selected Essays on Technology, Creativity, Copyright and the Future of the Future Cory Doctorow http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2883 urn:isbn:1892391813 en 2008 Non-Fiction Essay Collections Hailed by Bruce Sterling as “a political activist, gizmo freak, junk collector, programmer, entrepreneur, and all-around Renaissance geek,” the Internet’s favorite high-tech culture maven is celebrated with the first collection of his infamous articles, essays, and polemics. Irreverently championing free speech and universal access to information—even if it's just a free download of the newest Britney Spears MP3—he leads off with a mutinous talk given at Microsoft on digital rights management, insisting that they stop treating their customers as criminals. Readers will discover how America chose Happy Meal toys over copyright, why Facebook is taking a faceplant, how the Internet is basically just a giant Xerox machine, why Wikipedia is a poor cousin of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and how to enjoy free e-books. Practicing what he preaches, all of the author's books, including this one, are simultaneously released in print and on the Internet under Creative Commons licenses that encourage their reuse and sharing. He argues persuasively that this practice has considerably increased his sales by enlisting readers to promote his work. Accessible to geeks and nontechies alike, this is a timely collection from an author who effortlessly surfs the zeitgeist while always generating his own wave. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2883.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2883.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2883.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2883.mobi The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind James Boyle http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3471 urn:isbn:0300137400 en 2008 Non-Fiction Essay In this enlightening book James Boyle describes what he calls the range wars of the information age—today’s heated battles over intellectual property. Boyle argues that just as every informed citizen needs to know at least something about the environment or civil rights, every citizen should also understand intellectual property law. Why? Because intellectual property rights mark out the ground rules of the information society, and today’s policies are unbalanced, unsupported by evidence, and often detrimental to cultural access, free speech, digital creativity, and scientific innovation. Boyle identifies as a major problem the widespread failure to understand the importance of the public domain—the realm of material that everyone is free to use and share without permission or fee. The public domain is as vital to innovation and culture as the realm of material protected by intellectual property rights, he asserts, and he calls for a movement akin to the environmental movement to preserve it. With a clear analysis of issues ranging from Jefferson’s philosophy of innovation to musical sampling, synthetic biology and Internet file sharing, this timely book brings a positive new perspective to important cultural and legal debates. If we continue to enclose the “commons of the mind,” Boyle argues, we will all be the poorer. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3471.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3471.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3471.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3471.mobi The Hacker Crackdown Bruce Sterling http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1309 urn:isbn:055356370X en 1992 Non-Fiction A journalist investigates the past, present, and future of computer crimes, as he attends a hacker convention, documents the extent of the computer crimes, and presents intriguing facts about hackers and their misdoings. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1309.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1309.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1309.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1309.mobi Free Culture Lawrence Lessig http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2750 urn:isbn:0143034650 en 2006 Non-Fiction Essay Lawrence Lessig, “the most important thinker on intellectual property in the Internet era” (The New Yorker), masterfully argues that never before in human history has the power to control creative progress been so concentrated in the hands of the powerful few, the so-called Big Media. Never before have the cultural powers- that-be been able to exert such control over what we can and can’t do with the culture around us. Our society defends free markets and free speech; why then does it permit such top-down control? To lose our long tradition of free culture, Lawrence Lessig shows us, is to lose our freedom to create, our freedom to build, and, ultimately, our freedom to imagine. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2750.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2750.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2750.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2750.mobi Magic for Beginners Kelly Link http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3187 en 2005 Short Fiction Science Fiction Fantasy Collections Link's engaging and funny second collection -- call it kitchen-sink magical realism -- riffs on haunted convenience stores, husbands and wives, rabbits, zombies, weekly apocalyptic poker parties, witches, superheroes, marriage, and cannons -- and includes several new stories. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3187.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3187.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3187.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3187.mobi The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Francis Scott Fitzgerald http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3431 en 1922 Short Fiction This story was inspired by a remark of Mark Twain's to the effect that it was a pity that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst part at the end. By trying the experiment upon only one man in a perfectly normal world I have scarcely given his idea a fair trial. Several weeks after completing it, I discovered an almost identical plot in Samuel Butler's "Note-books." The story was published in "Collier's" last summer and provoked this startling letter from an anonymous admirer in Cincinnati: "Sir-- I have read the story Benjamin Button in Colliers and I wish to say that as a short story writer you would make a good lunatic I have seen many peices of cheese in my life but of all the peices of cheese I have ever seen you are the biggest peice. I hate to waste a peice of stationary on you but I will." This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50 or in the USA (published before 1923). http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3431.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3431.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3431.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3431.mobi Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom Cory Doctorow http://www.feedbooks.com/book/194 urn:isbn:076530953X en 2003 Novels Science Fiction Jules is a young man barely a century old. He's lived long enough to see the cure for death and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three symphonies...and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World.Disney World! The greatest artistic achievement of the long-ago twentieth century. Now in the keeping of a network of "ad-hocs" who keep the classic attractions running as they always have, enhanced with only the smallest high-tech touches.Now, though, the "ad hocs" are under attack. A new group has taken over the Hall of the Presidents, and is replacing its venerable audioanimatronics with new, immersive direct-to-brain interfaces that give guests the illusion of being Washington, Lincoln, and all the others. For Jules, this is an attack on the artistic purity of Disney World itself. Worse: it appears this new group has had Jules killed. This upsets him. (It's only his fourth death and revival, after all.) Now it's war.... Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/194.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/194.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/194.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/194.mobi I, Robot Cory Doctorow http://www.feedbooks.com/book/337 urn:isbn:1560259817 en 2005 Short Fiction Science Fiction "I, Robot" is a science-fiction short story by Cory Doctorow published in 2005. The story is set in the type of police state needed to ensure that only one company is allowed to make robots, and only one type of robot is allowed. The story follows single Father detective Arturo Icaza de Arana-Goldberg while he tries to track down his missing teenage daughter. The detective is a bit of an outcast because his wife defected to Eurasia, a rival Superpower. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/337.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/337.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/337.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/337.mobi The $30,000 Bequest and other short stories Mark Twain http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1176 urn:isbn:0195101464 en 2004 Short Fiction Collections Humor/Satire This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1176.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1176.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1176.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1176.mobi Small Stories Small Stories http://www.feedbooks.com/userbook/2705 en 2008 101 very short stories, some comic, some dark - each one written to provide a quick entertaining read. Great for reading on any mobile device. funny fiction short stories comic stories dark weird comedy surreal nanofiction microfiction absurd strange collections computer games http://www.feedbooks.com/userbook/2705.png http://www.feedbooks.com/userbook/2705.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/userbook/2705.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/userbook/2705.mobi Just so Stories Rudyard Kipling http://www.feedbooks.com/book/865 urn:isbn:0517266555 en 1902 Short Fiction Fantasy Collections The stories, first published in 1902, are pourquoi stories, fantastic accounts of how various phenomena came about. A forerunner of these stories is "How Fear Came" in The Second Jungle Book (1895), in which Mowgli hears the story of how the tiger got his stripes. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/865.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/865.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/865.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/865.mobi The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1421 urn:isbn:0199536953 en 1892 Short Fiction Crime/Mystery Collections The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his famous detective and illustrated by Sidney Paget. These are the first of the Sherlock Holmes short stories, originally published as single stories in the Strand Magazine from July 1891 to June 1892. The book was published in England on October 14, 1892 by George Newnes Ltd and in a US Edition on October 15 by Harper. The initial combined print run was 14,500 copies. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+70 and in the USA. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1421.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1421.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1421.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/1421.mobi Common Sense Thomas Paine http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2850 urn:isbn:0486296024 en 1776 Non-Fiction Essay Politics Enormously popular and widely read pamphlet, first published in January of 1776, clearly and persuasively argues for American separation from Great Britain and paves the way for the Declaration of Independence. This highly influential landmark document attacks the monarchy, cites the evils of government and combines idealism with practical economic concerns. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2850.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2850.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2850.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2850.mobi Tales of Space and Time H. G. Wells http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3469 en 1900 Short Fiction Science Fiction Collections A collection of short stories: "The Crystal Egg", "The Star", "A Story of the Stone Age", "A Story of the Days to Come" & "The Man who could Work Miracles" This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50 or in the USA (published before 1923). http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3469.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3469.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3469.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3469.mobi Grimm's Fairy Tales Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm Wilhem Karl Grimm http://www.feedbooks.com/book/187 urn:isbn:0517229250 en 1812 Young Readers Collections Children's and Household Tales (German: Kinder- und Hausmärchen) is a collection of German origin fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the Brothers Grimm. The collection is commonly known today as Grimms' Fairy Tales (German: Grimms Märchen). http://www.feedbooks.com/book/187.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/187.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/187.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/187.mobi The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories John Kessel http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3189 en 2008 Short Fiction Science Fiction Collections An ex-con finds himself falling, once more, under a seductive, amoral woman's spell. A hidden door in a summer house leads to a land of plenty. An inventor's life converges with the pulp fiction he reads. In "Pride and Prometheus," the Bennett sisters encounter Dr. Frankenstein and his monster. And, in his acclaimed and award-winning Lunar Quartet, Kessel explores the gender dynamics, politics, and long-term sustainability of a matriarchal lunar colony. This astonishing collection ranges from science fiction to the surreal while intersecting with Frank L. Baum's Oz and the characters of Flannery O'Connor, Mary Shelley, and Jane Austen. By turns satirical, horrific, funny, and generous, these stories showcase the manifold gifts of a modern-day master. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3189.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3189.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3189.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/3189.mobi Stranger Things Happen Kelly Link http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2873 urn:isbn:1931520003 en 2001 Short Fiction Fantasy Collections This first collection by award-winning author Kelly Link, takes fairy tales and cautionary tales, dictators and extraterrestrials, amnesiacs and honeymooners, revenants and readers alike, on a voyage into new, strange, and wonderful territory. The girl detective must go to the underworld to solve the case of the tap-dancing bank robbers. A librarian falls in love with a girl whose father collects artificial noses. A dead man posts letters home to his estranged wife. Two women named Louise begin a series of consecutive love affairs with a string of cellists. A newly married couple become participants in an apocalyptic beauty pageant. Sexy blond aliens invade New York City. A young girl learns how to make herself disappear. These eleven extraordinary stories are quirky, spooky, and smart. They all have happy endings. Every story contains a secret prize. Each story was written especially for you. Stories from Stranger Things Happen have won the Nebula, Tiptree, and World Fantasy Award. Stranger Things Happen was a Salon Book of the Year, one of the Village Voice's 25 Favorite Books of 2001, and was nominated for the Firecracker Alternative Book Award. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2873.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2873.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2873.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/2873.mobi The Awakening & Other Short Stories Kate Chopin http://www.feedbooks.com/book/342 urn:isbn:0679783334 en 1899 Short Fiction Sexuality The Awakening shocked turn-of-the-century readers with its forthright treatment of sex and suicide. Departing from literary convention, Kate Chopin failed to condemn her heroine's desire for an affair with the son of a Louisiana resort owner, whom she meets on vacation. The power of sensuality, the delusion of ecstatic love, and the solitude that accompanies the trappings of middle- and upper-class life are the themes of this now-classic novel. As Kaye Gibbons points out in her Introduction, Chopin "was writing American realism before most Americans could bear to hear that they were living it." http://www.feedbooks.com/book/342.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/342.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/342.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/342.mobi 2 B R O 2 B Kurt Vonnegut http://www.feedbooks.com/book/912 en 1962 Short Fiction Science Fiction Humor/Satire 2 B R 0 2 B is a satiric short story that imagines life (and death) in a future world where aging has been “cured” and population control is mandated and administered by the government. Please read the legal notice included in this e-book and/or check the copyright status in your country. http://www.feedbooks.com/book/912.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/912.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/912.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/912.mobi The War of the Worlds H. G. Wells http://www.feedbooks.com/book/35 urn:isbn:0812505158 en 1898 Novels Science Fiction War The War of the Worlds (1898), by H. G. Wells, is an early science fiction novel which describes an invasion of England by aliens from Mars. It is one of the earliest and best-known depictions of an alien invasion of Earth, and has influenced many others, as well as spawning several films, radio dramas, comic book adaptations, and a television series based on the story. The 1938 radio broadcast caused public outcry against the episode, as many listeners believed that an actual Martian invasion was in progress, a notable example of mass hysteria. This work is available for countries where copyright is Life+50 or in the USA (published before 1923). http://www.feedbooks.com/book/35.png http://www.feedbooks.com/book/35.pdf http://www.feedbooks.com/book/35.epub http://www.feedbooks.com/book/35.mobi