A truly amazing project!

I am talking about Project Gutenberg. Here is an interview with Michael Hart, the founder of Project Gutenberg; link via Literary Saloon. I did not know that Project Gutenberg was started in 1971. The interview tells the difference between Google books and the Gutenberg approach. And, two quotes from the interview to give a flavour:

In a typical week, there are at least a million downloads. We get a lot of Thackeray downloads, a lot of James Joyce, a lot of Dickens. “Pride and Prejudice” is always up there. Sherlock Holmes is always up there. … There are always some you don’t expect, like “Manners, Customs, and Dress During the Middle Ages, and During the Renaissance Period” by Paul Lacroix. …We also have reference material, which most people probably wouldn’t think of — like Roget’s Thesaurus. Plus, the Koran, along with the Bible.

Q: What are some of your favorite books or authors?
A: “Alice in Wonderland” was a family classic for us, and my dad was a Shakespeare professor. I do love Shakespeare.