# Any other publisher do this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-publisher-do-this/320691 "2005-09-08T19:06:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-publisher-do-this/320691/1 "2005-09-08T19:06:07Z")
Does any other publisher offer something like the [Baen Free Library](http://www.baen.com/library/)? That is, a selection of their inventory freely available to read? ---
**Author:** ![rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-publisher-do-this/320691/2 "2005-09-09T16:02:20Z")
Am I the only one that thought this was a good idea? I know that thanks to this site I’ve switched my recreational reading habits and been introduced to a whole genre I’d never read before (total fan of David Weber now). I’ve read all the books I could find by several of the authors whose works I was introduced to through the online library. I know I’d love to find a new set of authors to read (I go through books really fast). Ive seen TOR offers segments from books, but not the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-publisher-do-this/320691/3 "2005-09-12T05:32:44Z")
How old are these books? Science fiction of 1959 might be like reading Time magazines from 1979. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-publisher-do-this/320691/4 "2005-09-12T12:20:17Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > How old are these books? Science fiction of 1959 might be like reading Time magazines from 1979. Depends on the books. Lots of older SF novels hold up very well today, and should be read by anyone who likes the genre. As to to OP, [Embiid](http://www.embiid.net/free/stories.asp?718076124) does offer some free e-books, including the classic Atlanta Nights. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-publisher-do-this/320691/5 "2005-09-12T12:57:52Z")
Well, some of the Baen books I got hadn’t been published yet. Course, those were off the CDs. Most them? The first two or three books in long-running series, or first two or three books of modern popular authors. Some as recent as… uh, four years ago. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-publisher-do-this/320691/6 "2005-09-12T13:16:00Z")
Corey Doctorow (Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom) has all of his books available on his website for free. He feels that e-reading causes more people to try his work, which leads to more dead-tree editions being sold. [http://www.craphound.com/](http://www.craphound.com/) ---
**Author:** ![rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rabbit)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-publisher-do-this/320691/7 "2005-09-13T15:34:05Z")
sweet, thanks!