List of Lockdown Free Media
If you’re in lockdown mode (like me) and a cheap bastard (especially like me), you’re going to be wanting some free, fun entertainment to while away the hours. Assembled here are a list of links and sub-links to provide you with hours -- days! weeks!!! of fun.
Take two and call me in the morning…
-- Dr. Dixon
Project Gutenberg
“Project Gutenberg is a library of over 60,000 free eBooks. Choose among free epub and Kindle eBooks, download them or read them online. You will find the world's great literature here, with focus on older works for which U.S. copyright has expired.”
Many books also available in audio book form and some on foreign translations.
Project Gutenberg Australia
Because of differences in copyright laws, they got a few books from the 20th century you won’t find in the main Project Gutenberg site above
http://gutenberg.net.au/index.html
The Faded Page
Another public domain site, this one specific to Canadian copyright laws, and as such with a number of popular books now in PD in Canada but still copyright elsewhere. It wouldn’t hurt to take a L007K.
The Luminist Archive
“Items in this collection are tagged as non-fiction, fiction, poetry, or drama, although some works defy exact categorization or may be alternatively categorized. Other categories include biography, anthologies, and letters. Most of the PDF files listed here are made from cover-to-cover scans of original print publications.”
The last time I checked most of the links worked but a few didn’t. Give ‘em a look; they’ve got a lot of stuff you can’t find elsewhere, including many old & hard to find sci-fi / fantasy / horror stories.
http://www.luminist.org/archives/
The Internet Archive
“Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.”
Navigation here is not the most intuitive in the world, but once you get the hang of it you can find some amazing stuff. Often specific works are cross listed in two or more archives, so check the sub-links in the works’ descriptions; they’ll take you all sorts of places.
CAUTION: Like Ivory Soap, the Internet Archive 99 & 44/100th% pure -- but ya gotta watch out for that remaining 56/100%. Don’t let your little kids or your elderly relatives with heart conditions browse without supervision.
Here’s a handful I found exceptionally enjoyable.
Sub-Archives:
Old Time Radio
Giant archive of old time radio (OTR) shows as well as some newer programs from Australia and England.
https://archive.org/details/oldtimeradio?sort=titleSorter
Dimension X (OTR)
The first all sci-fi radio anthology show ran only one season (1950-51) but it packed a lot of adaptations of great classic stories in those episodes.
https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Dimension_X_Singles
X Minus One (OTR)
Radio anthology show from the mid-50s, many of the stories based on now widely regarded classics by the biggest names in the field at the time.
https://archive.org/details/OTRR_X_Minus_One_Singles
Dragnet (OTR)
The one, the only, the original. If your only exposure to Dragnet was the cheap color series in the late 60s / early 70s, you’re missing out on one of the best police procedurals ever done.
https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Dragnet_Singles
Pat Novak, For Hire (OTR)
Despite being typecast as grim Joe Friday, Jack Webb had a lively sense of humor and his Pat Novak series was one long Airplane-like send up of the tough guy school of noir drama with dialog so hard boiled I’m surprised it didn’t break the actors’ teeth. They pulled this off with a straight face, only breaking up and revealing the joke in the last episode.
https://archive.org/details/OTRR_Pat_Novak_Singles
The Jack Webb Show (OTR)
Webb’s first radio show was a comedy variety series. He does a good job, but soon he’d start playing tough guys and that was the end of his comedy career.
https://archive.org/details/The_Jack_Webb_Show/Jackwebbshow460410RazorMasterDetective.mp3
Henry Morgan (OTR)
Most people remember him (if they remember him at all) as a panelist on early TV quiz shows. On radio he was a master of absurd comedy.
https://archive.org/details/HeresMorgan
http://www.archive.org/details/TheHenryMorganShowPartOne
http://www.archive.org/details/TheHenryMorganShowPartTwo
http://www.archive.org/details/TheHenryMorganShowPartThree
The 78rpm Project
Literally tens of thousands of recordings from the earliest days of Victrolas to the mid-50s.
https://archive.org/details/georgeblood?tab=collection
Folkscanomy: A Library of Books
https://archive.org/details/folkscanomy
Pulp Paperbacks
https://archive.org/details/pulpfiction?sort=-publicdate
The Magazine Rack
An enormous number of magazines dating from the 19th century to the present including huge caches of pulps, science fiction, film, music, games, and electronics magazines.
(Note To Parents: This sub-archive has some NSFW material in it, so you may want to make sure of what your kids are browsing / downloading.)
https://archive.org/details/magazine_rack
The Pulp Magazine Archive
Literally thousands of classic adventure / mystery / romance / western / sci-fi / horror pulps from the 1900s to the present, including many British titles.
https://archive.org/details/pulpmagazinearchive
Sci-Fi Bookworm
Copious (although, alas, not complete) issues of the legendary sci-fi fanzines Science Fiction Review and Thrust, plus some other goodies. This were all posted by Jim Harris, so do him a solid and go visit his blog, Auxilary Memory.
https://archive.org/details/@sci-fi-bookworm
Additional Collections
https://archive.org/details/additional_collections
Warren Magazines
A big collection of magazines and comics from Warren Publishing inc. Famous Monsters, Spacemen, Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, and 1984/94.
https://archive.org/search.php?query=Warren%20Magazines
Warren Publishing Archive
Similar to the above but with some things not found there.
https://archive.org/details/warrenpublishing
Comic Books And Graphic Novels
(Note To Parents: This one has a few titles you may want to approve.)
https://archive.org/details/comics?sort=titleSorter
Classic Comics
This one is kid friendly, with over 500 classic Walt Disney comics
https://archive.org/details/classiccomics?&sort=-downloads&page=2
Asterix The Gaul in English
https://archive.org/details/Asterixcompleteset/mode/2up
Classics Illustrated Comics
The old comic book series that got us through our last minute book reports in junior high. Now you’ve got no excuse not to feign being literate.
https://archive.org/details/classicsillustrated
Other links:
Comic Book Plus
Several thousand golden and silver age comics (not from the big companies, alas, but still lotsa gems here) and a few pulps and fanzines. Requires a sign-up but they don’t ask for money.
https://comicbookplus.com
Digital Comics Museum
Ditto. Several thousand golden and silver age comics (again, not from the big companies, but they have a few you can’t find elsewhere) and a few pulps and fanzines. Requires a sign-up but they don’t ask for money.
https://digitalcomicmuseum.com
The Pulp Magazines Project
Not as extensive as the Internet Archive but easier to navigate
https://www.pulpmags.org/index.htm
Real Pulp
A lot of overlap with other sites but all in one convenient location
http://www.unexploredworlds.com/RealPulp.htm
LibriVox
Free public domain audio books
