Category: Thursday’s Things

Thursday’s Things: Freebies!

Published on by Rachelle3 Comments
1001 Things
                Original Image: Viktor Hertz

“Thursday’s Things” is a roundup of book-related links I’ve come across while wandering down the rabbit hole that is the internet.


I’m on a book buying ban for this year’s #ShelfLove Challenge.  The Boyfriend and I are also packing up the apartment to move across the country, so any new books I acquire have to be free and digital. Since this month’s discussion for #ShelfLove is all about where we find free books, here is a list of 20+ websites where I have gotten my book shopping fix for free:

  • The Online Books Page – There are over 2 million free books on this website, thanks to the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Read Print – Here are a few thousand more.
  • The Baen Free Library – and here are even more.
  • Bookyards – …and some more.
  • International Children’s Digital Library – Looking for free kid’s books?  Here ya go.
  • Storyline Online – How about famous actors reading children’s books aloud?  There are tons of videos on this non-profit site.
  • Library of Congress – Of course, there’s always the Digital Collection of the Library of Congress.
  • Planet eBook – Need to find that Classic you’ve been meaning to read since forever ago?  There are over 80 Classic Lit books on this site.
  • ManyBooks – This site boasts that they have over 33,000 free books.
  • Project Gutenberg – Most serious readers know about this one, but I have to list it because this is the go-to place for the Classics, and it will save your wallet if you’re a Classic literature addict or a member of The Classics Club.
  • Internet Archive – I LOVE this website!  It’s got so much more than free books, so make sure you’ve got some time to kill because you might not leave this site for a while.
  • Open Culture – This site has a ton of free downloadable media, including ebooks and audiobooks.
  • Open Library – You don’t have a library card?  First of all, shame on you!  Second, go to the Open Library and sign up for a free account.  Third, start borrowing ebooks to your heart’s content.
  • LibriVox – Free audiobooks.
  • Lit2Go – Another site for free audiobooks, but many of the books also have a free downloadable PDF.
  • Free Classic Audiobooks – in case you need yet another site for finding free downloadable audiobooks.
  • Classic Short Stories – Look through the list to find the short story you want to read, and click on it to download.
  • East of the Web – This site has short stories you can read online, but you can also click on the “Printable Version” link and then save it as a PDF.
  • Nightmare Magazine – This is a Horror and Dark Fantasy short story magazine I recently discovered.  You can read the short stories online or download the audio/podcast.
  • Storynory – This is a Children’s audiobook site that, amongst so many other kid-friendly downloads, includes Classic Children’s literature.
  • Kiddie Records – If you’re looking for children’s records from the 1940s and ’50s, this is the site to check out.  The downloads, including a Winnie the Pooh story, are all free.
  • BookBub – This is actually a website/newsletter to find out about the free (and on sale) books being offered under the genres you’re interested in by major booksellers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  I’ve discovered quite a few free books that I felt were worth downloading, but be careful since there is the temptation of .99 books.

Thursday's Things: #SciFiSummer

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Image: Jet Propulsion Laboratory

  • 19 Science-Fiction And Fantasy Novels By Women Of Color – As the title suggests, not all of the books on this list are Sci-Fi.  Also, I’ve only read the first book, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, but it was an excellent book.  It terrified me and made me think, which is exactly what I want in my Speculative Fiction.
  • Making Lists: Mindblowing SF by Women and People of Color – Here’s another much longer list of diverse books and authors, but this one is all Sci-Fi.  If you’re looking for ideas of books to try out for the Sci-Fi Summer challenge, definitely check this out.
  • Postcards from Space – Looking for some Sci-Fi postcards to write to all of your friends about the great fictional totally real places you’ve visited this Summer?  Look no further.
  • 8 Struggles All Science Fiction Fans Know Are Real – I do have to say that the real-life e-readers we have are far better than what was portrayed in “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

Thursday's Things – Free Books Edition

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

“Thursday’s Things” is a roundup of book-related links I’ve come across while wandering down the rabbit hole that is the internet.
I’m on a book buying ban for the next month or so.  The Boyfriend and I might be moving to San Fransisco, and if we do, the square footage of where we end up living is bound to be tiny in comparison to our current apartment.  So, not only do I need to save money for moving expenses, but I need to save as much precious physical space as possible.  However, no one said I can’t “shop” for ebooks without spending any money!  Here is a list of 10 places we can all get our fix for free:

Thursday's Things: Winter Edition

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“Thursday’s Things” is a roundup of book related links I’ve come across while wandering down the rabbit hole that is the internet.

  • 10 Charles Dickens Novels Everyone Should Read – Whenever I think of Dickens or the bleak settings of most of his books, I think of winter.  Also, I read A Christmas Carol every year.
  • A Literary Advent Calendar – So, I know this is extremely late, it being the 21st, but I just rediscovered this post buried in my Pocket.  I’m making my way through it to get caught up as quickly as possible.  So far, my favorite story is from Dec. 8th.
  • Winter Tales – Here’s a whole list of stories that are a bit on the darker side.  Many of them are ghost stories, and the idea of curling up with a blanket and a giant mug of hot chocolate while reading them is so Hygge that I’m wishing I had come across this page the night it snowed here in Austin.
  • 45 Bookish Ornaments Of 2017 – I’m saving this list so that I can hopefully find several of these ornaments for when I have room enough for a life-size Christmas tree, instead of the tiny one that is currently on top of my coffee table.
  • 25 Stories to Put You In the Festive Spirit – I’ve read several on this list, and I’ll be looking to see if I can find a few of the others at the library to take with me on my trip to Arizona on Saturday.
  • A Pictorial History of Santa Claus
  • A Reading List for the Christmas Books Obsessed – This is an amazing list that I’m considering turning into an Advent calendar for next year.
  • Which Game Of Thrones House Would You Fight For?  Winter isn’t coming.  It’s here.  Today is the Winter Solstice after all.
  • 3 Cozy Fantasy Reads for Winter – I’ve already added the 1st and 3rd books to my wish list.

Thursday's Things: October Country

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“Thursday’s Things” is a roundup of book related links I’ve come across while wandering down the rabbit hole that is the internet.

Thursday's Things: It's All About the Hobbits

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

“Thursday’s Things” is a roundup of book related links I’ve come across while wandering down the rabbit hole that is the internet.
Every September, Tolkien fans return to the Shire.  Even though September is also the start of #RIPXII, I am no exception.  So, this month will be a strange mix of Middle Earth and Gothic content.  However, this “Thursday’s Things” is all about the Hobbits!

Thursday's Things: Back to School!

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

1001 Things
Original Image: Viktor Hertz

“Thursday’s Things” is a roundup of book related links I’ve come across while wandering down the rabbit hole that is the internet.
Students are headed back to school for another year of learning, and I’m just a wee bit jealous!  The #SciFiSummer reading challenge is still going strong with roughly a month left, so I mixed in a few Science Fiction related links with the more “scholarly” ones.

Thursday's Things: Fantasy and Those Who Love It

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

1001 Things
Original Image: Viktor Hertz

“Thursday’s Things” is a roundup of book related links I’ve come across while wandering down the rabbit hole that is the internet.
I enjoyed putting together the Fantasy edition of “Thursday’s Things” so much that I decided to do another one.  Yes, much of it is related to the “Harry Potter” series, but that’s what I tend to find the most of on the interwebs.

Thursday's Things: Odds and Ends

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1001 Things
Original Image: Viktor Hertz

“Thursday’s Things” is a roundup of book related links I’ve come across while wandering down the rabbit hole that is the internet.

Thursday's Things: Fantasy For All

Published on by RachelleLeave a comment

1001 Things
Original Image: Viktor Hertz

“Thursday’s Things” is a roundup of book related links I’ve come across while wandering down the rabbit hole that is the internet.
During my Sci-Fi Summer reading challenge last year, I did a Thursday’s Things edition that was nothing but links related to Science Fiction.  I realized that I had never done one that was entirely made up of Fantasy.  So, in the spirit of feeling balanced, here are ten bookish Fantasy things I’ve come across: