ArcaMax Publishing offers free email subscriptions to 700 classic books at http://www.arcamax.com/books.
Upon signing up for an e-mail subscription, the reader receives a chapter a day with the option to read further on the ArcaMax website. The email subscriptions can be adjusted to match the place in the book so the reader can go further and have the next email adjusted accordingly. This feature is also useful for a reader who may fall behind in the book (based on the default reading schedule of one chapter per day).
Other features currently at ArcaMax books:
- A searchable index of 100 of the most popular classic book authors
- Various interactive quizzes on authors and genres such as “Famous Pseudonyms”
- A weekly Book Club newsletter that celebrates author birthdays with links to related and featured texts
- Printer-friendly versions available for all booksThe latest book reviews from the Washington Post (available online and by subscription)
The ArcaMax Book Club will be launching interactive book communities for booklovers in early 2007. The user-edited communities will be a place readers can create their own pages about classic books, authors, etc. and generate discussions per topic.
While the ArcaMax books by email function has been around for only a year, ArcaMax Publishing (http://www.arcamax.com) has been sending out newsletters by e-mail since 1999. Sending classic books by email was a natural transition for the company.
A double opt-in sign-up policy — that helps prevent unwanted email — is used for every ArcaMax subscription.
Free versus Commercial
All ArcaMax content (including classic books) is advertising supported, which allows for content to be provided at no cost to the reader. The company also offers email without advertising for readers who may prefer to have no solicitations anywhere near the text.
Readers are now able to contribute any amount they feel this feature is worth, and they will not receive any advertising in an ArcaMax email for one year.