Gaelic e-Books

I know that not everybody is a fan of e-books, for a variety of good reasons.

However, for those who are fans, I thought I should share my tips for good places to find Gaelic e-books online. I'd be glad to hear any thoughts or advice from others.

I enjoy using my kindle (other brands of e-reader available!), because it's small and lightweight. I travel internationally a lot, so it's really convenient for me to be able to carry hundreds of books in one pocket, and to be able to dip into a Gaelic book I'd otherwise have left at home, while in an aeroplane or somewhere unusual. I've also found some free Gaelic e-books floating around the internet. Free books are always good :)

For those who are interested, but not keen to buy an e-reader, you can download free kindle (and other) apps to your normal computer, and display e-books that you've bought or downloaded for free there. Most smart devices also support e-reader apps, so if you've got a smart phone or tablet and want to read free Gaelic books during your commute, there's a way!

There is a lot available on archive.org, like the pieces I posted on the 'Reading Gàidhlig Class' thread. I recommend viewing those as pdfs - often when converting to kindle and other e-reader files, accented characters become wobbly and turn into lists of symbols, which doesn't really help reading. As pdfs, the files take longer to open on an e-reader, but will display correctly.

I found out recently that some of Acair's books are available for sale on kindle now:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fo-Sgail-Swastika-Under-Shadow-ebook/dp/B00B5V5R7E/ref=s...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maraiche-Nan-Cuantan-Floraidh-NicPhail-ebook/dp/B00AROMZ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tarmod-Norman-Macleod-ebook/dp/B00ALGQAKW/ref=sr_1_1?s=d...

There are also several free Gaelic e-books floating about the internet. One that I found enjoyable was Mar a Chuala Mise e. It's free to download for computers, or for e-readers. It's a collection of stories from Scotland and Ireland in Gaelic with a handy (I think Gaelic-Gaelic) glossary at the end. As well as having a glossary, it's written very much with young readers, in mind, so is learner-friendly:
http://www.storlann.co.uk/beurla/resources/mar-a-chuala-mise-e.html

And here's another page from the Stòrlann Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig, where you can download Mar a Chuala Mise E, Ailig Aurora (a scifi book), and Fo Bhruid (not sure if it's the RLS original or the recent Gaelic reimagining) all for free (go to the bottom of the page to find the downloads):
http://www.storlann.co.uk/goireasan/

Lastly, I found this list of Gaelic e-books as of last november, compiled by the Comunn Gàidhealach Ameireaganach, some for sale, others (I imagine) free:
http://download.acgamerica.org/Gaelic_ebooks.pdf

Enjoy!

Fearghas

Tapadh leat, Fhearghais! Fo Bhruid is the re-imagined version. This is making me think of getting a Kindle (or other reading device!)

And another site of interest: http://justenglish.me/2012/09/01/free-books-100-legal-sites-to-download-literatu...

All legal, all free. I haven't found any Gaelic here yet, but I'm sure it won't be long!

Fergus

And another site:
http://bookza.org/s/?q=Gaelic&t=0

The search turns up lots of mentions of Gaelic. Not sure about actual books in Gaelic.

I cannot vouch for the site's legality.

Some more Gaelic e-books:
http://www.storlann.co.uk/giglets/index.html#.U1FXHPmSzZ0

I think Dòmhnall or Mòrag may have mentioned these before, but there's no harm in my sticking them on the list of e-books here.

Fearghas

Mille taing, a Fherguis. I've just downloaded Fo Bhuird onto my Kindle and found it works brilliantly. The best bit is that I find I can use the Kindle Note facility to record translation for individual words and whole phrases.

This is a big step forward from pencilling notes onto the pages of Eadar Da Sgeul. Maybe Fo Bhuird will be a bit more cheerful too. I came close to cutting my wrists yesterday - so far in Edar Da Sgeul I've had a boy nearly eaten by a shark, a mother trying to decide which of her sons shall be executed by soldiers pursuing Culloden participants, a girl beaten up by school bullies and an old woman being evicted from her croft in the depths of winter. Is there /anything/ humorous in there at all?

Best wishes, MartinJ

>6 MartinJCumb: I so agree with you, MartinJ - see numerous postings from me on the topic of Gaelic Gloom! I can recommend Cafe Ranji and Partaidh Purpaidh (kinda), both by Dòmhnall Iain MacIomhair, and both in Eadar Dà Sgeul. In the first one, the bare bones of the story are not very cheerful, it must be admitted, but both stories are told with humour and a light touch. Cafe Ranji is an excellent short story by any standards. Enjoy!

>7 mta: PS, MartinJ - I'd love to know what you think of either or both of these stories, if you get a chance to read them! Also recommend Tim Armstrong's short novel, Feur buidhe an t-Samhraidh, which has been described as a "rock band road trip disaster narrative" - but I'm pretty sure (confess to not having finished it yet!) will have a happy ending.

I have down loaded a couple of E-books to my lap top. I found I could split screen between book and Faclair beag.The first one I have read is a scaled down version of Dracula. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Dòmhnall

>9 MacUllieum: Yee-ha! Dè a' Ghàidhlig a th' air "vampire"? I hope it's not "bhampaidhir"!

Its a teenager edition on Giglets . The translator used Òladair-fala. which I took to be Blood drinker.

>11 MacUllieum: Yup, that's right - good to know. Heard a new Gaelic word the other day:
Fheineag - selfie!

Really? I wonder if that will be included in the An Seotal technology dictionary? ;)

I'm sure it will make the dictionary eventually - this is the kind of word that actually catches on!