hello the_callant and welcome. you'll find lots of great ressources and information here, including plenty of free books to read (check the "ebooks" link in the blue menu bar at the top of the page).
for converting lit books to epub, might i recommend
Calibre. it's an excellent conversion / library management program developped by one of our forum members. if your lit books are drm-ed you'll need to google for some information on Convert Lit first. there are plenty of experts around here who can help you if you have any questions.
i got a 700 2 days ago and so far i think it's brilliant.
