Plain text ebooks from the authors and publishers at Smashwords.  They lack much formatting, but they're readable on virtually anything.

	Julio Ramón Ribeyro, Impurity, and the Trials of the Amateur	by Juan LePuen Feb. 05, 2012	$1.80	6313 words	Sample 30%
	"To me," wrote Peruvian Julio Ramón Ribeyro, "the crippled, the cretins, the beggars, and the pariahs. They come naturally to me without my having to summon them."
	Multi-Dimensional Life	by Moyra Caldecott Feb. 03, 2012	$5.99	69794 words	Sample 20%
	Moyra Caldecott reveals the many levels of her own life as a writer and the extraordinary events and experiences that have inspired her life and writing.
	The London Bard. One Poet's Olympic Struggle Against Tyranny (Part One)	by L.A. Coltrane Feb. 01, 2012	$2.99	19874 words	Sample 20%
	In this heart warming piece, L. A. Coltrane drops our first ever Poet Laureate, into his greatest play, to rescue him from his gravest mistake, to solve, once and for all, the longest standing mystery surrounding Benjamin Jonson.
	The Young Romantics: Writers & Liaisons, Paris 1827-37	by Linda Kelly Feb. 01, 2012	$9.99	57215 words	Sample 20%
	Linda Kelly sketches in the political background as well as the literary beginnings of the French Romantic movement... She traces the rise and decline of Romantic theatre from 'Cromwell' to 'Ruy Blas', with piquant cameos of the famous prima dommas, the most - perhaps the only - independent women of their time, except of course the unique Georges Sand. -- The Washington Post
	A Good Place to Come From	by Morley Torgov Dec. 16, 2011	$4.99	53412 words	Sample 15%
	Winner of the Leacock Medal for Humor, this memoir captures life in a small northern town of Torgov’s youth in the heady era of the 20th C from the Depression to WWII. Here Jewish merchants, English lawyers, Scots bankers, Ukrainian domestics and a few Chinese struggle to make a living in a remote outpost. And it is here that a young man, yearning for a larger life, turns his comic gaze.
	Real de Catorce	by Centeotl Ehecatl Dec. 02, 2011	$10.00	25613 words	Sample 20%
	Las narraciones en primera persona de un joven que va al desierto buscando la espiritualidad en el peyote.
	Vesso	by Wirbel Bet Nov. 26, 2011	$7.00	16178 words	Sample 10%
	o meni i ljudima
	The Most Interesting People in Movies: 250 Anecdotes	by David Bruce Nov. 26, 2011	$1.00	27784 words	Sample 20%
	A sample: When Yousuf Karsh went to Peter Lorre’s home to photograph the famous actor, he saw a sign by the driveway: “Beware of Ferocious Dogs.” The “ferocious dogs” turned out to be a couple of frisky Pekinese, a breed of very small, toy-sized dogs.
	The Funniest People in Books, Volume 3: 250 Anecdotes	by David Bruce Nov. 17, 2011	$1.00	29240 words	Sample 20%
	A sample: When poet Robert Frost was growing up, his favorite book was "Tom Brown’s Schooldays," which was one of the books that his mother read out loud to her children. Young Robert loved the book so much that he wanted his mother to read and reread the other chapters, but he wouldn’t let her read the ending. Why? He wanted the book to never end.
	The Funniest People in Books, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes	by David Bruce Nov. 16, 2011	$1.00	26347 words	Sample 20%
	A sample anecdote: Some sentences have more than one meaning, including contradictory meanings. (A pause in a sentence can be important.) Poet Robert Southey hinted around for a compliment about 'Madoc,' his epic, so classical scholar Richard Porson said, “'Madoc' will be remembered—when Homer and Virgil are forgotten.”
	As You Don't Like It (Shakespeare didn't write Shakespeare)	by Jeff Rowe Nov. 14, 2011	$0.99	39144 words	Sample 20%
	This book reveals a four-hundred-year old code, hidden within the works of Shakespeare, that illuminates the fact that William Shakespeare is a penname.
	Feje fölött a pallos árnyéka	by Apor Elemér Oct. 30, 2011	$2.99	35455 words	Sample 20%
	Annak a lovasnak is kár volt elindulni, aki már a második virradat elébe vágtatott, de nem volt megállás, át hófúvásokon, amikbe néha szügyig gázolt a ló, ugratva árkot, ahol eltűnt az út nyoma. Az arca csak a száj körül élt, lehelete jéggé vált bajusza végén, a szakálla csörgött a vastag bőrmellény fölött.
	The Coolest People in Books: 250 Anecdotes	by David Bruce Oct. 20, 2011	$1.00	29416 words	Sample 20%
	This book has 250 anecdotes, including this one: David Foster Wallace’s mother was an English teacher at a community college. She had an interesting way of teaching David and Amy, his sister, proper grammar. If either of them made an error in usage during conversation at the supper table, she would pretend to have a coughing fit until the child acknowledged his or her error and corrected it.
	The Masque of William Shakespeare	by Don Satalic Oct. 12, 2011	$0.99	3510 words	Sample 10%
	William Shakespeare was entangled in a web of espionage, false identities, and finally murder. The victim was Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare's one and only rival. Follow the author as he presents the bizarre facts surrounding the world's greatest writer.
	Brenda My Darling	by Eric Utne Oct. 10, 2011	$9.99	77808 words	Sample 10%
	The Love Letters of Fridtjof Nansen to Brenda Ueland, some of the most passionate, eloquent, and candid love letters ever written.
	Die toten Lebensretter	by Jens Löser Oct. 09, 2011	$2.42	21917 words	Sample 20%
	Es handelt sich um einen in der „Er“-Form (auch der „Typ“) verfassten, autobiographischen Roman, der mit futuristischen Zyklen verflochten ist. Er handelt von meinem ereignisreichen Leben, in dem ich sehr viele Höhen und Tiefen durchlaufen musste. Geprägt durch manisch/depressive Phasen seit meinem 23. Lebensjahr, war ich ...
	Fontaine Press	by Fontaine Press Sep. 12, 2011	Free!	16 words	Read a sample
	Fontaine Press
	A Passionate Sisterhood	by Kathleen Jones Sep. 05, 2011	$4.99	133714 words	Sample 10%
	The relationships of the Lake Poets, Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey have become a romantic literary myth. The letters and journals of their sisters, wives and daughters form the basis for this illuminating new account of their interconnected lives - their passionate attachments, petty jealousies, and deaths of children - and contribute to a greater understanding of the poets.
	Kunstwerke von Liebe geschaffen	by Ludovít Bari Aug. 31, 2011	$9.99	59046 words	Sample 15%
	53 Kapitel, 48 Seiten in Farbe, davon 18 Seiten mit Musikinstrumenten und 30 Seiten mit Zeichnungen, Bildern, Reliefs, Skulpturen und Fotografien. Kurzbeschreibung: Das Buch mit drei Themen: 1. Das Leben des Autors von seiner Kindheit bis zur Gegenwart 2. Ansichten des Autors auf Kunst, Leben, Menschheit und Natur 3. Vorgehensweise bei Entstehung der Bild
	All about Rabindranath Tagore	by Students' Academy Aug. 25, 2011	$2.99	19961 words	Sample 20%
	"That which fails to illuminate the intellect, and only keeps it in the obsession of some delusion, is its greatest obstacle." ---Rabindranath Tagore
	All about Bertrand Russell	by Students' Academy Aug. 08, 2011	$2.99	7401 words	Sample 20%
	"The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile." --Bertrand Russell
	Songs of an Irish Poet: The Mary O'Leary Story	by Brian Brennan Aug. 03, 2011	$0.99	24274 words	Sample 20%
	Brian Brennan's biography of one of the most celebrated Irish-language folk poets of the 19th century. It includes English translations of her entire canon.
	The Black Men and Steven Spielberg	by JC Andrijeski July 30, 2011	$0.99	16266 words	Sample 10%
	Semi-autobiographical but mostly fantastical essay on growing up in the outdoors of California, and the importance of having family just as quirky and not-quirky as you are.
	A Little Circle Of Kindred Minds: Joyce In Paris	by Conor Fennell July 23, 2011	$9.99	77976 words	Sample 20%
	When James Joyce arrived in Paris in 1920, he intended staying a week. Instead he remained for twenty years during which he published both Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. A Little Circle of Kindred Minds: Joyce in Paris looks at Joyce’s relationship with the artists, writers and muscians who lived in Paris during his years there, looking most especially at the Irish.
	Where That Came From is Anybody's Guess	by Sarah Rebecca Kelly June 30, 2011	Free!	2009 words	Read a sample
	Young Herbie carried a club and knew how to sway opinions. At twelve years old, he was the leader of a gang of homeless street rascals. He told us that among the grocery cart pushers The Candle Lighter Shelter was considered 'the lesserof all evils'.
	The Making Of twenty20 Journal Summer 2011 Issue 1: Collaboration	by twenty20 Publishing May 31, 2011	Free!	1584 words	Read a sample
	A free e-book describing the process by which twenty20 Journal's Summer 2011 Issue 1: Collaboration was made.
	Stieg Larsson Man Myth & Mistress	by Andre Jute May 31, 2011	$2.99	44636 words	Sample 20%
	Is Lisbeth Salander a feminist — or a comic book avenger? Is her creator Stieg Larsson a feminist — or a prurient, violent hack? What is the Millennium Trilogy really about? Is it literature or vicarious violence and sex? Should Eva Gabrielsson be in charge of the Girl franchise? Should there be a second Salander Trilogy? Who built the Stieg Larsson myth, and is any of it true?
	Who Was That Lady? Craig Rice: Queen of the Screwball Mystery	by Jeffrey Marks April 22, 2011	$5.99	67334 words	Sample 20%
	What goes up must come down, and Craig Rice’s meteoric rise to the top of the mystery writing heap by 1946 was rivaled only by her rapid descent into semi-obscurity. Her face once graced the cover of Time magazine, but today her books are found in second hand stores.
	Devotionals with Laura: Laura Ingalls' Favorite Bible Selections, What they meant in her life, What they might mean in yours	by Dan L White March 23, 2011	$7.99	46056 words	Sample 5%
	Laura Ingalls Wilder was a wonderful writer and an eager Bible reader. A list of her most cherished Bible selections was found in her Bible after her death. In a crisis, she was saying ‘this means this to me.’ We look at that same passage, along with comments from her writings which may relate to the passage and consider how the words relate to our lives, as she related them to hers.
	Driving Minnie's Piano: Memoirs of a Surfing Life in Nova Scotia	by Lesley Choyce March 21, 2011	$9.95	63270 words	Sample 20%
	Novelist Lesley Choyce weaves together his real-life adventures living by the sea at Lawrencetown Beach on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore. He writes of his love for the rugged coast and tells tales of the ordinary and the extraordinary. His story involves accounts of what it's like surfing in the Canadian North Atlantic through all four seasons, including the frigid depths of winter.
	Brook Trout and the Writing Life	by Craig Nova March 07, 2011	$7.95	34947 words	Sample 20%
	Novelist Craig Nova's memoir reveals the life of an American novelist in the modern age. Joy, fear, love, children, fishing, friends, marriage are some of the elements of his wonderful life in which the personal and the literary are inextricably intertwined. It is a drama of what goes on just beyond the surface of the writing life.
	Stop Writing, Fool	by Arthur A Perkins March 06, 2011	$0.99	4138 words	Sample 30%
	A true account of the writer's attempt to become a published author or playwright. This memoir is offered to discourage the innocent, those about to set out with similar ambitions.
	The Agony of Lewis Carroll	by Richard Wallace Feb. 02, 2011	$4.99	102938 words
	Two years after publishing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll told a child friend that the book was about malice. What he didn't tell her was that he had filled the book with self disclosure and Victorian smut hidden in the nonsense. This book is about what he did and why, and it demonstrates just how far all his nonsense works are from being just children's books.
	The Bookie's Runner	by Brendan Gisby Jan. 21, 2011	$0.99	24350 words	Sample 10%
	Brendan Gisby has written this utterly beautiful novella to honour the short life of his father, a man of seemingly little significance. The story is narrated with haunting subtlety, rhythm and depth of feeling by his teenage son as he takes a bus ride back to school for the first day of a new term where he will have to announce his father's sudden death and deal with the resultant reactions.
	Every Month was May	by Evelyn Eaton Dec. 20, 2010	$6.95	41040 words	Sample 20%
	Best-selling author Evelyn Eaton (Quietly My Captain Waits) wrote a series of light-hearted stories about her life in England, France, and Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. Those stories, published in The New Yorker, form the basis for Every Month was May. Though the original was published a lifetime ago, the appeal of these stories is timeless.
	Le Vent d'Avezan	by Gaelle Kermen Dec. 18, 2010	$4.99	63891 words	Sample 20%
	Ebook de 210p en francais. Premier amour impossible. Marine, jeune fille des 60' partagée entre deux frères, fascinée par l'aîné, aimée du benjamin. Echec à l'examen de la Fac de Droit Assas Paris. Vacances en Gers. Rentrée difficile. Travail d'institutrice à St-Leu. Dépression. Essais vains de littérature. Sortie du film de Godard Pierrot le fou. Articles de Michel Cournot. Libération
	Le régal des chacals	by Françoise Sagan Dec. 09, 2010	$3.99	18192 words	Sample 10%
	Ce Carnet propose les commentaires et réflexions de F. Sagan sur des sujets d’actualité de l’époque (guerre d’Algérie, élections législatives, Gorbatchev un chef d’État singulier, etc.), des questions de société, des problèmes plus personnels. Avec fougue et sans détour, Sagan prend des positions et les défend sans ménagement.
	Maisons louées	by Françoise Sagan Dec. 09, 2010	$4.99	14785 words	Sample 10%
	Ce Carnet élaboré à partir d’articles de presse issus de Égoïste, L’Humanité, L’Express, Vogue, Senso, Elle, offre une description de lieux aussi variés que : le village natal de F. Sagan, Cajarc ; Jérusalem où elle est mandatée comme envoyée spéciale ; Cuba où elle fut invitée par Castro dans les années 1960, ou encore les champs de course qui l’envoûtaient.
	Un certain regard	by Françoise Sagan Dec. 06, 2010	$6.99	36709 words	Sample 10%
	Célèbre à 18 ans, Françoise Sagan n’est pas seulement un écrivain à succès et un personnage qui hante les nuits parisiennes ; même si l’alcool, le jeu, la vitesse font partie de sa panoplie littéraire. « Je porte ma légende comme une voilette, assure-t-elle, sauf qu’une vie humaine n’est pas seulement ça, mais c’est comme une apparence. »
	Richard Brathwait The First Lakeland Poet	by John Bowes Nov. 12, 2010	$4.95	79837 words	Sample 10%
	Richard Brathwait was a businessman his neighbours would have been wise to treat with sensible caution. He was devout in his faith but worldly in his ambition. His wild and promiscuous behaviour did not cease at the end of his adolescence or with his marriage vows. The author of 'Drunken Barnaby' had more than a passing resemblance to the riotous hero of his most famous poem.
	A Letter to the Establishment: The Cautionary Tale of Hunter S. Thompson	by JC Andrijeski July 18, 2010	$1.99	14479 words	Sample 25%
	Drug-crazed, iconic, outrageous--Hunter S. Thompson’s own reputation as the rock star writer of the 1970s obscured the meaning behind much of his work, even for many of his fans. An essay on Hunter S. Thompson as a journalist, and the implications and intention behind his style of “gonzo journalism” on current day media…as well as what set him apart.
	Oxford: Son of Queen Elizabeth I	by Paul Streitz June 15, 2010	$9.99	126307 words	Sample 20%
	On July 21, 1548, Princess Elizabeth Tudor gave birth to a son at Cheshunt, England. The father of the child was Thomas Seymour, her stepfather. The child was placed in the home of John de Vere, 16th Earl of Oxford and raised as Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, better known to the world by his pen name "William Shakespeare." This is his story.
	2009's Hot Authors: Interviews by Aggie Villanueva	by Aggie Villanueva Dec. 08, 2009	$7.97	32189 words	Sample 20%
	"Aggie has few peers as an interviewer. She does her homework, asks layered questions that illuminate the writer's core, and brings a fresh and positive energy to the experience for both reader and interviewee alike." Larry Brooks, critically acclaimed author and revolutionary fiction instructor. Bonus: The year's most informative posts.
	My Years at The Gotham Book Mart with Frances Steloff, Proprietor Recollections about The Pantheon of Writers and Artists Who Passed Through Her Store and How I Became a Bookman	by Matthew Tannenbaum Sep. 11, 2009	$5.45	7258 words	Sample 50%
	The proprietor of the “The Bookstore” in Lenox, MA, the author, Matthew Tannenbaum, reflects on getting his start at the legendary Gotham Book Mart on West 47th Street in New York City. He writes, “I am very fortunate to have found Frances Steloff, founder of The Gotham Book Mart, when I was a very young man, and she turned me into the bookman that I have since become.
	A Boy Called Lwazi	by Lwazi Nkiwane Sep. 06, 2009	Free!	18524 words	Read a sample
	This is my world This is my country This is my life An upcoming sensation Lwazi Nkiwane takes the readers into the journey of his childhood and teenage years and his ambition to become a recording artist, songwriter and story writer. Also in this book it will explore his relationships with both men and women, several incidents, school achievements and a lot more.