Show HN: DRM-Free Books

A humble Show HN post listing DRM-free books — meaning ebooks you actually own instead of ones locked down by store rules — somehow turned into a mini book-nerd town square. The site rounds up titles from Andrew Oliver, Timothy Zahn, and Kacey Ezell, plus points readers toward Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks, Amazon listings with direct downloads, and Baen. On paper, it’s a simple public service. In the comments? Instant fact-checking, wishlist energy, and mild librarian drama.

The loudest reaction was basically: "Nice list, but where’s Tor?" Multiple readers piled on to note that Tor already sells all its books without digital locks, making the omission feel like the thread’s tiny scandal. Another popular gripe was practical, not ideological: people are tired of stores hiding whether a book is restricted until checkout. In other words, readers don’t just want freedom — they want the label on the tin.

Then came the classic-book crowd, who treated the thread like a gateway drug confession booth. One commenter joked, without really joking, that once they started on older free books, modern books barely stood a chance. But even that came with a plot twist: Standard Ebooks got a gentle side-eye for editing texts for readability, which some readers think is helpful and others view as tampering with the classics. And in one perfectly deadpan moment, someone asked if this was basically Project Gutenberg — the kind of comment that says the real battle here is not just freedom from locks, but who gets credit for doing it best.