ad a good book lately? Why not consider logging online, for that next novel? With the proliferation of Palm Pilots... Pocket and tablet PCs gaining ground... It was just a matter of time before the age-old custom of curling up to enjoy a good story or biography would go high tech. There are countless virtual “libraries” and “bookstores” on the Web, where you can find both fiction and non-fiction. Some concentrate on price-per-volume offers, while others, listed below, feature works you can download for free.

Ebooksonthe.net
Ebooks provides handy, fun electronic reading that you can access on your Palm Pilot, laptop, penpad or any of the small portable reading gizmos available on the market, as well as on your desktop computer. You can carry up to 15 books in your pocket, and the print size can be adjusted on most devices. Prices are lower than for most bookshelf equivalents, and the titles of your choice can be downloaded or delivered by email any time of day or night. Ebooksonthenet has a varied selection of fiction, non-fiction, romance, mystery, humor, sci-fi and many other genres, including children/youth. Though there are a few public domain titles — along the lines of “A Christmas Carol,” “Calamity Jane” or “A Will and a Way” — this site highlights pay-per-volume options in the five to six dollar range.

Free-ebooks.net
As its name suggests, Free-eBooks.net specializes in free fiction, tutorial, marketing and business books. All the e-books featured here are in PDF format that you can download to Windows 95, a Mac or higher machine. There are over 35 categories from Fiction and Poetry to Music, Arts and Parenting. Clicking on a subject like “Marketing” conjured up a list of 48 titles mostly targeting small business owners. To name but a few — “21 Principals of Internet Marketing,” “Small Business Marketing Tips,” and “How to Lose Your House, Waste Your Time and Absolutely -— Positively — Never Make Any Money on the Internet.” There are (abbreviated) trial versions that allow you to flick through a segment then purchase the rest, plus reading material that’s free of charge.

manybooks.net
Some 10 000 public domain e-books from Project Gutenberg and other sources are on hand... formatted for to be read on your Palm, PocketPC, Zaurus, Rocketbook, or PDA, in 14 languages. You can browse back and forth checking out popular categories, or look up the various authors and titles you’re interested in. This site supplies the software needed to view its e-publications, and among all of the reading matter available, you’ll find the electronic versions of all kinds of classics. For instance, the “Three Musketeers,” “Moby Dick,” “Wuthering Heights,” “Frankenstein,” “The Odyssey”... Or, Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphisis.”   

Bookselecta.com
British site, Bookselecta, is primarily a pay per e-book site. After providing Bookselecta with a valid email address, you’re sent a message confirming your purchase and you will be given a url, where you’ll download your buy as well instructions as to how to install MS Reader FREE from Microsoft. The Reader includes many options such as picking the text size setting that’s most comfortable for you. All in all, there are thousands of publications by authors from all over the planet, with 20 new titles added each month, and the items in the “Classics library” are all “only 65p.”

fictionwise.com
Fictionwise offers a multiplicity of  high quality e-books belonging to all the major genres, many by award-winning literary figures. Perhaps one of the most technically advanced around, this booksite’s advantages range from sophisticated search or sorting facilities to an artificial intelligence savvy coupon and promotions system that helps members pick their e-buys swiftly. Its electronic books can be read by all PDAs and PCs including Palm, PocketPC, Hiebook, eBookMan, Adobe, MS Reader, and WinCE eBooks.