Classical Bookworm: Can’t decide which book to read in the bathtub?

Classic Books Online

Project Gutenberg

"The Internet's oldest producer of FREE electronic books." See Manybooks.net for portable formats of PG texts.

Great Books and Classics

Links to online texts of the great books in translation and in the original languages.

Great Books Index

Links to great books online plus background materials.

The Online Books Page

"Listing over 25,000 free books on the Web"

eBooks@Adelaide

Beautifully formatted classic literature, philosophy, science, and history.

Librivox

Free public domain audiobooks read by volunteers.

Bibliotheca Augustana

Classical texts in Latin, Greek, other European languages, plus art and music. In Latin.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library

"Classic Christian books in electronic format" including works by "Church Fathers."

Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature

A gorgeous site with texts, essays, and resources for 14th–18th C. English writing.

Beowulf Translations.net

A vast site including long excerpts from every modern translation of Beowulf.

Classics Publishers

Oxford World’s Classics

My choice for paperback critical editions.

The Modern Library

Nicely printed paperback and hardcover classics.

Penguin Classics

Inexpensive paperback critical editions, vast catalogue.

Everyman’s Library

Affordable, decorative hardcover classics.

W.W. Norton

Publisher of those tried and true anthologies of great English, Western, world, and women's literature. Companions websites are available for the world and English anthologies. See also the Norton Critical Editions and the Norton Introduction to Literature.

Loeb Classical Library

Greek and Latin classics with English translation. For an introduction, try the Loeb Classical Library Reader.

Bolchazy–Carducci

Greek and Latin classics, language instruction, and books about the ancient world for adults and children.

Broadview Press

Canadian publisher of the Broadview Editions, high quality critical editions of popular classics and "valuable, lesser-known" works.

Useful Sites

Great Books Lists

An annotated collection of canon lists, including non-Western works.

Self-Made Scholar

A compendium of resources and advice for autodidacts.

LibraryThing

Reader-centered book cataloguing and social networking.

Library Elf

Track multiple library accounts and get reminders before your books are due. No more fines!

Bibliotarian

Shop for books and support the charity of your choice. Operated by Bookwish Foundation.

Bookfinder

Detailed comparison book-shopping with support for non-US currency and shipping.

Reading Groups & Challenges

Book Arts

Book Arts Web

A portal for book arts on the web and home of the Book_Arts-L listserv.

Canadian Bookbinders & Book Artists Guild

Papermaking, bookbinding, calligraphy, printing, illustration...everything that goes into making fine books.

Counterspace

"A website dedicated to typography and its history."

Letter Arts Review

"Internationally recognized as the preeminent magazine for calligraphers and lettering artists..."

Unseen Hands: Women Printers, Binders, and Book Designers

"Women have been involved in printing and the making of books ever since these crafts were first developed. Even before the advent of movable type, there was a strong tradition of women producing manuscripts in western European religious houses."