Yes, the iPad, the iBook App, and Apple's iBookstore will have a big impact on the publishing industry. Yes, more ebooks, as well as books of all kinds, will be published, purchased and read because of the iPad. But what few folks are talking about is how wonderfully open Apple and the iPad are where it comes to free books.
Currently the only means to purchase books for your iPad is Apple's iBookstore (part of iTunes), but several other cool ways exist to fill up the shelves of your iBookshelves with high-quality free ebooks.
Because Apple, in a financially wise and egalitarian decision, chose the ePub format for their iBook App, it’s possible to import ePub files into iTunes and sync them to your iPad. Below are just a few of the obvious sources for populating your iLibrary (yes, I'm just adding "i" to any word I feel like) without spending a dime or throwing out your back lugging armfuls of your favorite tomes.
Here are three options, from Not Too Difficult to Falling Off a Log for Dummies easy, for putting free books on your iPad:
Convert PDF’s, LIT’s and more to ePub
While it wins no UI design prize, Calibre is a cross-platform app that outputs well-formatted ePub files from various input formats. If you have digital copies or PDF’s lying around, chances are you can convert them to a nice iBook. It handles chapter auto-generation, but sometimes you’ll have to tweak some settings to achieve the best results.
The ePubBooks Website
ePubBooks is a website with a huge amount of free ePub-formatted books. Many have original illustrations and cover art included. And most are ready to drag into iTunes and synced onto your iPad faster than you can say "Stephen King" (Sorry, but y probably won't find any of his novels for free). If you prefer different cover art, or want to change metadata, iTunes still lets you.
iBookstore / Project Gutenberg
The iBookstore has most of the Project Gutenberg ePub catalog already accessible for download. Not every title from Project Gutenberg is listed, but if you do a title search for the book you want, there's a great chance you’ll find it available, including translations.
The Project Gutenberg books lack cover art, but just like it works in iTunes, you can add cover art to your iBooks. Use Google Images coupled with TinEye to find high-resolution cover art, which is by far the preferable choice.
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If you have more sources for free iBooks, or any other tips regarding the iPad / iBook / ePublishing world, please feel free to add them in the comments.
Happy reading, Craig
About the Author
Craig Allan Teich is a writer, blogger, designer, founding partner of several companies including LaunchBox Pro, unapologetic serial entrepreneur, business growth and marketing consultant to a small but lovely group of businesses, mediocre hockey player, decent cyclist, husband-in-training and overwhelmed father of two amazing daughters.
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