I tend to like the volunteer-read audiobooks on librivox and recently was curious about their Sherlock Holmes books (never read or listened to before), but I’m wondering what else is out there and popular in the community.

    • OprahsedCreatureOP
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      3 years ago

      I like how they organize by popularity. Just went off that list to pick out a bunch of good ones from librivox :D Thanks!

    • nutomicA
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      3 years ago

      I tried to read that but it was way too drawn out. I think I made it to page 200 or so and he didnt even leave his village yet. And it has 1000 pages. That was years ago so numbers might be wrong.

      • Support Trans People
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        3 years ago

        life hack: read the children version of the book to save time

        the don quixote i have from when i read it in school is 170 pages long

  • Albinoss@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Frankenstein. If you’ve never read it, the caricature of what it is has done it no justice. It is an incredible book.

    • OprahsedCreatureOP
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      1 year ago

      I’ve actually been a big fan of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein for a long time so thank you for bringing it up and indulging me in a happy nostalgia. I’ve heard it described variously over the years as possibly the first or at least early science fiction, as well as even proto-feminist in its more subtle themes. Might be a good time to return to it. There are some potentially Luddite themes as well but in an era when people were en masse encountering rapid technological advancement while philosophical approaches to that rapid advancement were still in their infancy it’s a forgivable flaw.

  • nutomicA
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    3 years ago

    Treasure Island should be public domain. After reading it, watch Blacks Sails (TV show which plays before the book). Both are quite good. Also books by Jules Verne (Around the World in Eighty Days, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea).

    Edit: Just found out that there are two cool looking movies of “Around the World in Eighty Days”.

    • DessalinesA
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      3 years ago

      I loved treasure island growing up. Black sails is supposed to be kinda dark tho right? Treasure island was a fun adventure book.

      • nutomicA
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        3 years ago

        Yes treasure island is a book for teenagers i think, but black sails is clearly for adults. With prostitution, violence etc.

    • DessalinesA
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      3 years ago

      I just finished count of monte cristo! I’ve never read a more epic and fulfilling revenge story. It was entertaining the whole way through.

    • Mugmoor@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 year ago

      The count of

      Monte Cristo is hands down my favourite book that I’ve read. Absolutely a must-read.

  • fakefunk
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    3 years ago

    The Complete Works Of H.P. Lovecraft. If you enjoyed them, you can then read the really good “H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life” by Michel Houellebecq (not public domain, but I don’t think he cares)

  • ghost_laptop
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    3 years ago

    I mean, basically any book prior to the 1800 should be in the public domain, I’m sure some more “recent” stuff (1800-1900) has to be in it, too, but there probably are some exceptions. So, yeah, a fucking lot of books.

    • Jeffrey
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      3 years ago

      Almost anything before 01Jan1923 in the US is public domain, there are a few exceptions.

  • Jeffrey
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    3 years ago

    Beware with Sherlock Holmes that only 10 of the books were published before 1923, the books published after 1923 are still the property of the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle.

    • nutomicA
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      3 years ago

      More evidence that copyright law sucks, why should his grandchildren make money with his books? Just get a job like everyone else.

      • fakefunk
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        3 years ago

        Had this idea for a less stupid copyright law for creative works: author’s death + 7 years. This way direct descendants have a magical grace period of 7 years to cash in if they want to, before everything becomes public domain, as it should be.

      • carbon_dated
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        3 years ago

        I never understood those people who advocate for that ridicously long copyright postmortem time. They essentially say «Our children should be able to get advantage from our fortunes and achievements! Why should copyright be any different from inheritance? Do you hate your children, is that it? Do you want to see them suffer, you sadist? What a vile and twisted idea of a human are you?!». Postmortem copyright, like inheritance, is stupid. Why should anyone get anything for something they didn’t do? If we can’t guarantee the well-being of our descendants without inheritance, then our system is pretty horrible.

  • Miles
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    3 years ago

    This isn’t a specific book recommendation, but a project/site. The project’s called StandardEbooks and they clean up the projectgutenberg versions of books to make real good public domain books. At the moment they have some Kropotkin and the Manifesto

  • Azure
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    3 years ago

    I liked Voyage to Arcturus. It’s early Sci-Fi, with the alien planet more as a vehicle for the author’s Gnostic thoughts than an attempt to build a coherent world.