Munseys: A Free Online E-Book Library

In 1996, not long after I first became an active user of the Internet, I came across the Project Gutenberg web site. The site hosted an impressive archive of public domain books in plain-text format. While it was nice to be able to read some classic novels that I didn't have in my bookcase, slogging through incredibly long plain text files on a computer screen was far from easy on my eyes - or my nerves, for that matter.

Back then, the e-book was an intriguing, virgin concept. Now, some thirteen years later, e-books have become a popular alternative to print editions. The technology for reading e-texts - both software and hardware - has evolved and gotten much better. Gone are the days when you had to load large plain text files into your word processor or Notepad and scroll down, down, down to infinity while you read.

In fact, you don't need a computer at all to read e-text. There are hand-held electronic devices with viewing screens for reading e-text, like Amazon's Kindle, which, despite its hefty $359 price tag, is selling well. The new model, the Kindle 2, offers features like wireless Internet access capabilities for downloading e-books. I've heard Kindle owners sing the gadget's praises, but I'm waiting for the screens to get a little bigger and the price to go down.

While I'm waiting, I still read e-books on my PC. I've found a great repository for e-texts. It's a site called Munseys.com and it takes Project Gutenberg's concept in a new and exciting direction. based on the old, defunct Blackmask.com e-book site and hosting thousands of free, public domain e-texts, Munseys has obscure titles you'd never find anywhere else. You want to read a seedy 1940s pulp fiction novel? They've got lots of them. Are you looking for a copy of Atlantic Monthly magazine, circa 1861? It's here. How about a children's health class primer from 1885? They've got it.

Munseys is packed with lots of rare texts in a variety of subjects: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, it's all here. And if you're looking for more familiar classics like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Leo Tolstoy's War And Peace, Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn, or the text of your favorite Shakespeare play, they've got all that, too. Some of the books, like the 1940s pulp fiction novels, include scans of the original covers.

Where Munseys really shines is the way that the e-books are presented. You select the format you want from the drop-down box and click Download. That's all there is to it. But what a format selection: HTML, Acrobat PDF, eBookwise EB1150, Rocket Ebook, Plucker, Sony Reader, Mobipocket / Kindle, Isilo, Microsoft Reader, Adobe Mobile / EPUB. Whether you read your e-text on your computer or on a handheld device, it's all here. No more are you confined to those endlessly long, ugly plain-text files. Whatever format you chose, the text is presented attractively and is easy to navigate through.

Munseys also includes a means of reviewing or commenting on e-books, plus a message board forum and a blog. If you're into e-books, you must see Munseys.com - the best e-book site on the web!