Literary Treasures at No Cost: 7 Exceptional Free Books

A great thing about books is that there are so many treasures available - enticing novels, insightful non-fiction books, and great literature.

You can read some of the greatest books of all time even for free because they are in the “public domain”.

Photo by Syd Wachs on Unsplash

A public-domain book is a book that doesn’t have a copyright. This could be because it was made without special permission, or its copyrights expired or were given up. In many countries, copyright protection usually ends 70 years after the author passes away.

I curated a list of 7 books that are in the public domain and are very much worth reading.

Meditations

_{Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, cover-image from Amazon}

The book was written by no one less than the Roman emperor of his time: Marcus Aurelius. In his book, he shares his thoughts on life

Marcus Aurelius talks about how to be a good person and deal with challenges. He believes in being calm and patient, even when things are tough. He encourages us to focus on what we can control and not worry too much about things we can’t change.

Marcus Aurelius also emphasizes the importance of kindness and understanding towards others.

Overall, “Meditations” is like a guide to living a good and balanced life, filled with practical advice from a thoughtful leader and often leads “best book lists” - especially in the realm of stoicism.

Don Quijote

This Spanish masterpiece actually consists of two books and they were published in the early 1600s, telling the story of Alonso Quijano, an avid reader of chivalric novels.

Consumed by his readings, Alonso becomes delusional and decides to take on the persona of Don Quijote, a self-styled knight-errant, and sets out on a quest to revive chivalry.

Accompanied by his loyal squire, Sancho Panza, Don Quijote encounters a series of misadventures and battles imaginary foes.

Even though the Spanish in the book might sound a bit old-fashioned, the story is still really interesting. The narrative explores themes of reality versus illusion, the power of literature, and the impact of one’s perception on their actions.

And guess what? It’s not just a serious book – it’s actually pretty funny too! The way the story unfolds will definitely make you laugh and keep you entertained.

So, it’s not just a smart book, it’s a fun one too!

The Richest Man in Babylon

_{The Richest Man in Babylon}

This classic book shares timeless financial wisdom through entertaining stories set in ancient Babylon. The book revolves around the character Arkad, the richest man in Babylon, who shares his financial knowledge with others.

The principles include saving a portion of your income, making wise investments, avoiding debt, and seeking expert advice. It emphasizes the importance of consistent and disciplined financial habits to build wealth over time.

The book teaches these principles with simple, parable-like tales. It is a quick and entertaining read and along the way, you can learn something about money and wealth.

War and Peace

_{War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Original Cover}

“War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy is an epic story about people’s lives in Russia during the war.

It follows friends and families through love, conflicts, and big historical events. The book talks about how war affects everyone, not just soldiers.

It also explores deep questions about life and meaning. It’s like a huge, interesting puzzle of stories that shows how people cope with challenges and find meaning in their lives, all set against the backdrop of a big war.

“War and Peace” is not an easy read and all the characters and their relationships to one another can become difficult to understand (unless you draw a map). However, reading it is definitely worth the effort.

The Art of War

_{The Art of War by Sun Tzu, cover-image from Amazon}

Sun Tzu’s book is an ancient Chinese book about military strategy. Some think Napoleon did great in his early fights because he used tricks from this book.

But the book is still relevant to this day: it’s a great book about leadership.

Now, you might be puzzled why a war book is relevant to leadership. Well, in some big companies, work feels a bit like a battlefield. But this book isn’t teaching how to throw punches. It’s more like a guide on smart planning and being a good leader.

There are 7 useful strategies in there that today’s leaders can use: know your environment, adaptability, know your team, lead by example, exploit weaknesses, assessment of risks, and preparedness.

The Almanack of Naval Ravikant

_{The Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson}

This is a rather new book and was written by Eric Jorgenson. It was published as public domain and is available via this link.

The book is a compilation of tweets, blogs, etc. from self-made billionaire Naval Ravikant. It contains a variety of instructive tips, some of which have already been widely used in self-help books. I want to highlight these helpful tips:

• Easy decisions, hard life. Hard decisions, easy life.
• To be financially successful, you have to learn two things: learning to sell and learning to build (products, code, …)
• If you can’t decide, the answer is no.
• There are three levers to scale your business: employees, money/capital, and “permissionless” (products with replication costs of 0).
• In every situation in life, you have the choice to change, accept, or leave the situation.

The Art of Public Speaking

_{The Art of Public Speaking, original cover}

“The Art of Public Speaking” is a helpful book that teaches you how to talk confidently in front of a bunch of people.

The author, Dale Carnegie, shares tips on overcoming nervousness and making your speeches interesting. He talks about organizing your ideas, connecting with your audience, and using your voice and body effectively.

Overall, it’s a friendly guide to becoming a more confident and engaging speaker.

Where to access these books?

There are many addresses on the internet where you can access books in the public domain. I am a big fan of Project Gutenberg. The site provides many books in English and German (and also other languages).

Another great site is Feedbooks: it is not non-profit but offers a good repository of public domain books.