Among my best sources for DRM-free-books over the last few years have been the StoryBundle and Humble Bundle collections.
These are such a great idea. Pay a minimum and access the base collection of titles, or pay the average and get several e-book bonuses. You can donate a percentage of your purchase to worthy causes, and all the books are DRM-free.
I’m a little hit or miss with some of the themes, as most people would be. But when they match my tastes, the bundles are a great value. The new StoryBundle, for instance, celebrates the short story and features work by authors who have won major awards, including the Nebula and Hugo Awards and the World Fantasy Award. Two of the collections in this bundle were compiled specifically for this sale.
Want more short stories? Check out public domain sites such as Project Gutenberg. And within the commercial realm, here are some other collections I have bought and enjoyed on my Kindle:
– Best American Short Stories: This series has many titles, both in the yearly annual and in the themed collections such as Best American Mystery Stories. They are reasonably priced and offer a great variety of fiction (and, in some sub-themes, non-fiction as well. This free sampler contains selections from several of the 2011 books.
– The World’s Greatest Short Stories: This is from the generally well-edited and very budget-friendly Dover Thrift Edition series and features work from ten authors. Other worthy anthologies in this series include collections by Chekhov, Ambrose Bierce, Chesterton, Fitzgerald and others.
– The Akashic Noir series: This series of noir-themed mystery collections is each themed around a city, for instance D.C. Noir. There are dozens of them, and most of them are under eight bucks. A great find for mystery fans.
Any short story fans here on TeleRead? I’d love to see your recommendations for other worthy books. Happy reading!
Publisher’s note: We’ll soon run a sample from Black Propaganda, the new weird fiction short story collection by TeleRead Associate Editor Paul Mackintosh. Please note that this book is for mature readers. – D.R.