Torrents and torrents..

AprilHare · 10-02-2009, 07:38 AM

As we all know, filesharing gets a bad rap from the Powers That Be for allowing people to share illegal stuff.
But it can share legal stuff too!
Can people recommends any torrents of legal books (out of copyright for as many people as possible in USA or Canada for instance - please be specific!) that we can safely, happily, download?
I'm thinking Project Gutenberg ebooks in EPUB format, for instance.. a few gigabytes of those would set me up forever..

Wouldn't it be nice if we could download MobileRead books in bulk too?..

bill_mchale · 10-02-2009, 07:53 AM

Well, they are not torrents, but Manybooks.net offers offers most (if not all) of Project Gutenberg's books via epub. Feedbooks also offers quite a few public domain and CC titles in epub.

--
Bill

HarryT · 10-02-2009, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AprilHare

Wouldn't it be nice if we could download MobileRead books in bulk too?..

No, it wouldn't

. We've discussed this at considerable length in the past, and most people who create books here are vehemently opposed to "bulk" book downloading.

DixieGal · 10-02-2009, 08:55 AM

I've no experience with torrents - the whole idea sort of scares me. But why are y'all uploaders opposed? Just curious....

edembowski · 10-02-2009, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

...
most people who create books here are vehemently opposed to "bulk" book downloading.

As a reader, I'm not terribly interested in bulk downloads either, just as I'm not interested in bulk purchases. I can point to my bookshelf (physical and electronic) and say that I've read all of those books. If I'm bulk downloading, not only can I not say that, but I really feel that I'll loose alot of the books in the swarm.

- Ed

Mr. Dalliard · 10-02-2009, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, it wouldn't

. We've discussed this at considerable length in the past, and most people who create books here are vehemently opposed to "bulk" book downloading.

Apart from bandwidth issues, the rationale is what exactly?

I wouldn't want to download the whole site, but 'author packs' would be convenient.

HarryT · 10-02-2009, 08:58 AM

That's precisely the point, Ed. We want people to read the descriptions we've written, peoples' comments, add their own comments, etc. Bulk downloading "anonymizes" the whole thing, which we really don't want.

DixieGal · 10-02-2009, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edembowski

As a reader, I'm not terribly interested in bulk downloads either, just as I'm not interested in bulk purchases. I can point to my bookshelf (physical and electronic) and say that I've read all of those books. If I'm bulk downloading, not only can I not say that, but I really feel that I'll loose alot of the books in the swarm.

- Ed

Right, overwhelming. Thank you for saying what I was trying to say above, but couldn't put the thought together. Much too early, much too little coffe thus far, brain still sleeping.

Sparrow · 10-02-2009, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieGal

I've no experience with torrents - the whole idea sort of scares me. But why are y'all uploaders opposed? Just curious....

This thread discussed it:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33021

igorsk · 10-02-2009, 09:20 AM

Getting back to the topic...
Baen CD torrents.
Gutenberg torrents.

Superlucky · 10-02-2009, 09:39 AM

I've seen some torrents on The Pirate Bay where people have put a ton of Project Gutenberg books together. I was tempted, but ultimately didn't want to dig through that many books yet.

HarryT · 10-02-2009, 09:45 AM

The other problem with torrents is that many of us here regularly update and improve the books we've uploaded. We want people to get the latest version of those books from here, not from a torrent where they may be out of date.

Hellmark · 10-02-2009, 09:49 AM

I've got bulk books before, however it was usually some sort of related set, usually a series, or just a single author (such as the Dresden Files books, or anything by Stephen King). It just seems a waste of time and effort to grab "random lot of books", when I may not want to read most of them. Just more for me to sort and organize.

To clarify, so you don't think I'm some pirate, the bulk grabs I've just went and got box sets, or just went through and snag all the books that fit what I was looking for. I consider it bulk, because when you're buying like 10+ books at a time just because they were by X author or are in Y series, that just isn't in the norm of single purchases.

bill_mchale · 10-02-2009, 09:55 AM

Ultimately, I see little utility in having a bulk download of legal ebooks. Lets face it, most books will download in less than a minute (unless you are still using a dial-up connection). So I see little need to download a bunch a Public Domain titles. I can always download them later.

The one exception might be in promotional downloads by publishers and authors. If they are offering an ebook free for now, if I think I might ever be interested in it, I download it, now. It might not be legally available next month.

--
Bill

ahi · 10-02-2009, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, it wouldn't

. We've discussed this at considerable length in the past, and most people who create books here are vehemently opposed to "bulk" book downloading.

Yeah, but should eBooks that aren't bound by the oppressive dictates of authors and publishers be bound by the oppressive dictates of their compilers?

- Ahi

10-02-2009, 07:38 AM	#1
AprilHare Wizard Posts: 2,981 Karma: 11862367 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony Reader PRS-T2	Torrents and torrents.. As we all know, filesharing gets a bad rap from the Powers That Be for allowing people to share illegal stuff. But it can share legal stuff too! Can people recommends any torrents of legal books (out of copyright for as many people as possible in USA or Canada for instance - please be specific!) that we can safely, happily, download? I'm thinking Project Gutenberg ebooks in EPUB format, for instance.. a few gigabytes of those would set me up forever.. Wouldn't it be nice if we could download MobileRead books in bulk too?.. Last edited by AprilHare; 10-02-2009 at 07:39 AM. Reason: moar

10-02-2009, 09:49 AM	#13
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,592 Karma: 4290425 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Foristell, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505, Nook STR Glowlight, Kindle 3, Kobo Libra 2	I've got bulk books before, however it was usually some sort of related set, usually a series, or just a single author (such as the Dresden Files books, or anything by Stephen King). It just seems a waste of time and effort to grab "random lot of books", when I may not want to read most of them. Just more for me to sort and organize. To clarify, so you don't think I'm some pirate, the bulk grabs I've just went and got box sets, or just went through and snag all the books that fit what I was looking for. I consider it bulk, because when you're buying like 10+ books at a time just because they were by X author or are in Y series, that just isn't in the norm of single purchases. Last edited by Hellmark; 10-02-2009 at 09:56 AM.

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10-02-2009, 07:53 AM	#2
bill_mchale Wizard Posts: 1,451 Karma: 1550000 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE	Well, they are not torrents, but Manybooks.net offers offers most (if not all) of Project Gutenberg's books via epub. Feedbooks also offers quite a few public domain and CC titles in epub. -- Bill

10-02-2009, 08:55 AM	#4
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	I've no experience with torrents - the whole idea sort of scares me. But why are y'all uploaders opposed? Just curious....

10-02-2009, 08:58 AM	#7
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	That's precisely the point, Ed. We want people to read the descriptions we've written, peoples' comments, add their own comments, etc. Bulk downloading "anonymizes" the whole thing, which we really don't want.

10-02-2009, 09:20 AM	#10
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	Getting back to the topic... Baen CD torrents. Gutenberg torrents.

10-02-2009, 09:39 AM	#11
Superlucky Fanatic Posts: 581 Karma: 5952 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-350	I've seen some torrents on The Pirate Bay where people have put a ton of Project Gutenberg books together. I was tempted, but ultimately didn't want to dig through that many books yet.

10-02-2009, 09:45 AM	#12
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The other problem with torrents is that many of us here regularly update and improve the books we've uploaded. We want people to get the latest version of those books from here, not from a torrent where they may be out of date.

10-02-2009, 09:55 AM	#14
bill_mchale Wizard Posts: 1,451 Karma: 1550000 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE	Ultimately, I see little utility in having a bulk download of legal ebooks. Lets face it, most books will download in less than a minute (unless you are still using a dial-up connection). So I see little need to download a bunch a Public Domain titles. I can always download them later. The one exception might be in promotional downloads by publishers and authors. If they are offering an ebook free for now, if I think I might ever be interested in it, I download it, now. It might not be legally available next month. -- Bill