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I like Project Gutenberg, but I like Library Genesis or other shadow libraries even more.
Imagine a machine where you could choose a book from project Gutenberg, pay it and have it instantly printed for you.
It is a shame.
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Any recomendation? Please.
https://standardebooks.org/ sources notable literature from Gutenberg and packages it up into modern ebook formats.
I prefer the Project Gutenberg versions.
I imagine a machine. Something similar to that automated coca-cola machines which you choose the flavor of your soda, pay it and it spits it. Imagine a machine where you could choose a book from project Gutenberg, pay it and have it instantly printed for you.
While it is a great project, posting a link to it is almost like posting a link to Wikipedia.
I was debating if I should post up the link or not because I did find other posts that mentioned Project Gutenberg on HN when I did a quick search; however, I didn't see any post that mentioned Project Gutenberg exclusively in my search. I figured if HN didn't think it was useful then they'll just bury my post down or leave it alone. Also, I'm sure there were other people on HN out there like me who were completely oblivious that this project existed.
I'm glad I did mention because some of the comments on this post are really good.
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https://standardebooks.org/ sources notable literature from Gutenberg and packages it up into modern ebook formats.
"Standard" Ebooks also make their own non-standard editorial changes to modernize the language of the books. These edits are labeled as such in their git repository, but they're mixed with the technical edits so in practice it would take a lot of work to revert them. I prefer the Project Gutenberg versions.
I take the name to mean that their books all follow a “standard” (i.e., single, consistent) style guide.
> to modernize the language of the books.
SE will update archaic spellings, if they’re homonyms (e.g., ‘akehorn’ → ‘acorn,’ ‘centrys’ → ‘sentries’). I used to make similar substitutions in my own ebooks in the past, so clearly I’m in SE’s target market.
SE won’t update language in other ways as far as I know (they won’t censor or replace “problematic” words), or modernize punctuation in any way that changes meaning.
But if that’s not your cup of tea, Standard Ebooks does provide links both to scans of the original printed book and to the Project Gutenberg transcription, and marks editorial changes in the commit message so anyone who wants to can revert just the spelling changes.
> in practice it would take a lot of work to revert them.
I’m not sure what more you’d suggest them to do, other than stop using a style guide at all—which is the whole raison d’être of the project.
However, I’m surprised that it’s only 60K titles. The Google digitization project had over 1 million public domain titles as of 2008[1].