The latest edition of the always-free Buzz Books sampler series put out by Publishers Lunch was scheduled to coincide with this year's BookExpo America convention, which wrapped up yesterday. Titled "Buzz Books 2013 Fall/Winter," it's a completely free e-book made up of 40 pre-publication excerpts of books that will be appearing on store shelves in the coming months. This season's edition features new fiction from Elizabeth Gilbert, Sue Grafton, Wally Lamb, Jonathan Lethem, Amy Tan, and even James Franco--everyone's favorite gentleman of letters. Excerpts from upcoming children's books and nonfiction work are featured in the new edition as well (including something from the New Yorker's...

The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, if you're not familiar with it, is generally agreed upon as being one of the finest graduate business schools in the country. Unbeknownst to TeleRead until just earlier today, however, was the school's online business analysis journal. It's called Knowledge@Wharton, and we've learned that the smart minds behind the website recently teamed up with Ernst & Young to produce a free, video-enhanced e-book titled Mobile Banking: Financial Services Meet the Electronic Wallet.  "Mobile banking is far more than simply online banking by using mobile phones," according to a press release that accompanied the e-book's launch. "Banks...

Dan linked to a great article in today's Morning Links roundup about 'digital mooches,' aka the 20-somethings who may be leaving Mom and Dad's house in the coming years, yet seem to have no plans to leave their parents' cell phone contracts or Netflix subscriptions. I read this article with interest; I'd just read another about 'cord cutters,' aka the cable-free, and how the content industry is wringing their hands about what to do with these people. It seems these articles, read together, paint an ominous pattern: The kids aren't paying because they get it for 'free' at home. Then they turn...

Rich Adin, a professional editor, has a thoughtful essay up about Read an E-Book Week. He says he has seen many complaints on author boards that authors' sales did not appreciably benefit from the RAEW sale, and he offers some reasons for why that might be (e.g., authors choosing too-small discounts; doing little-to-no promotion; not tagging their books so the right readers see them; choosing the wrong books to promote). The point that most interested me, though, was the issue of complacency. Stores don't promote author, Adin argues. And he's right: Smashwords had a special section for Read an E-Book Week,...

If you haven't already entered our Guy Kawasaki giveaway, now's the time: We'll be announcing the winners in just two days, but that's more than enough time to join the party. We're giving away two free copies of Kawasaki's new book, which is already being thought of as the final word on digital self-publishing. I've got a copy myself, and believe me: This thing is a beast. It clocks in at just under 400 pages, and covers everything from e-book distribution and self-financing tips to detailed info on file conversion, print-on-demand services, social media marketing, and the very wide world of Amazon....

It's a snowy day in our nation's capital, and watching the flakes fall has made me contemplative. I've been reading a number of historical and fantasy books in worlds and times where books were rare, precious and valued. I can't help but contrast that to today, when people can download thousands of free books to their e-reader of choice. What impact does that have on our perceived value of a book? I thought back and compared my reading habits now to when I was a child (and books were relatively rare—I had to wait for Christmas or birthdays, and use my scant...

We've been writing quite a bit lately about book publicity tactics, which is probably why a recent tweet about a Pan Macmillan promo caught my eye this morning. The promotion couldn't be easier: You post a pre-written tweet about a new Richard House series called The Kills, and then the first book of the series (there will eventually be four, and the first is titled Sutler) is automatically downloaded onto your computer, tablet or smartphone. (I just gave the promo a test run myself, and was surprised when I was offered my choice of a Mobi or EPUB file.) The Kills, as the book's...

Looking for free e-books for your e-reader? Books on the Knob is a great resource. I'm subscribed to the blog in Google Reader, and every day I receive at least five to 10 posts about free or bargain books. Books on the Knob covers lots of different sites—not just Amazon—so whatever your reader of choice happens to be, you'll be clued in on books with which to fill it. The woman who runs the site has three main blogs: Books on the Knob, Christian Books on the Knob and Erotica & Hot Romance Books on the Knob. She split them out last year into separate...

The ever-popular Publishers Lunch website has just released an entirely free e-book, Buzz Books 2013 Spring/Summer. It's filled with 488 pages of pre-publication excerpts from 28 different titles that are due to be released during the upcoming spring/summer seasons. (A small number of the book's sneak previews have very recently been published.) The e-book offers an even mix of fiction, nonfiction and YA literature, and the authors whose work is featured within include some pretty big names: Michael Pollan, Chip and Dan Heath, Meg Wolitzer, Kate Atkinson, Joe Hill and Sarah Dessen, to name a handful. The book's introduction, written by Publishers Lunch founder...

We've written about the Unglue.it project a few times in the past, but here's a brief explanation for anyone who may not be familiar with the site: It's essentially a crowdsource-funded campaign that attempts to purchase the copyrights to various books, which it then releases free-of-charge—and DRM-free—to literally anyone on earth who wants a copy. (You can read the project's FAQ section by clicking here.) It's been a little while since the site "unglued" its first title, Ruth H. Finnegan's Oral Literature in Africa, but word came my way this morning that the team had finally succeeded in releasing two new books:...

Do you like to "buy" lots of free books, but you don't want them all downloaded to your Kindle? Not a problem. Try this. 1. Install Kindle for PC (or Mac) on your computer. 2. When you "buy" a free book, have it sent to your Kindle desktop app instead of your Kindle 3. Select a Collection category for your new book You can import all your collections from your Kindle, just like in the screenshot below, so you won't lose any of your organization.  When you're ready for a new book, browse your collections on your computer, select a new book and go to...

From Part 1: I love DRM-free books! I know that for most people, DRM is an issue they might not think about often; if their books work, they’re happy. But for many more experienced e-book users, it’s an issue to care about. Unless, that is, you buy and read books that are DRM-free. The books referenced and linked to below can be kept forever, converted using free software such as Calibre, and read on any device you might own. But where to get them? Here are some of my favorite sources: 3. SMASHWORDS This is the Amazon of self-published books. Some genres are better represented...