Play today, s'il vous plait.

October 22, 2011 9:14 PM

Where can I buy digital copies of books without an e-reader?

I need a copy of (popular Australian play) The Boys by Gordon Graham, and I don't have time to wait for shipping. It's not available in any of my town's libraries or bookstores (I live in regional Victoria, Australia). Is there anywhere I can download a digital copy of the play to read on my Mac? Any other suggestions on getting a play, fast? Thanks!

posted by lovedbymarylane to computers & internet (9 answers total)

Is it on Kindle? There is a free Kindle app for home computers and for smartphones.
posted by drjimmy11 at 9:17 PM on October 22, 2011

Amazon will let you buy Kindle ebooks without a physical Kindle. I think you might have to download and register the (free) Kindle app first, though.
posted by Xany at 9:17 PM on October 22, 2011

Nope, it's not on the Kindle Store unfortunately. That would have been great, though!
posted by lovedbymarylane at 9:47 PM on October 22, 2011

How about the Nook store? There is a Mac Nook client.
posted by deadmessenger at 9:51 PM on October 22, 2011

No luck there either.
posted by lovedbymarylane at 10:06 PM on October 22, 2011

You can order a PDF copy of the play through the National Library of Australia. They may for copyright reasons only be able to get you an excerpt.

Also, Trove lists 9 libraries in Victoria with this play in hardcopy, and one with an epub (digital) version.
posted by zippy at 10:18 PM on October 22, 2011 [2 favorites]

Also, the University of Ballarat has a copy that was due back two days ago, according to their online catalog. Maybe try them and see if it's been returned?
posted by zippy at 10:22 PM on October 22, 2011

Thank you so much, zippy!

I got all excited about the epub version but it's coming up as 'not yet in collection'. I'll try UB when they open tomorrow. I'd never heard of the National Library's copying service - that's pretty cool, although it does take 3-5 working days, but I'll look at that as a last resort for sure.
posted by lovedbymarylane at 10:35 PM on October 22, 2011

Not your original question, but Fishpond has your play and it "Ships within 24 hours from local
supplier". So if your UB "play today" plan fails, "play Wednesday" is still a possibility.
posted by Cheese Monster at 2:34 PM on October 23, 2011