Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who runs this site and is it all legal?
2. Which format should I download?
3. How do I put the e-books on my device?
8. Questions about the e-book collection.
9. My question isn't listed here.
1. Who runs this site and is it all legal?
I run the site. My name is Julie, I live in London, and I've been running Global Grey by myself for around 10 years. The site is completely legal, with only free, out of copyright books that have entered the public domain.
2. Which format should I download?
I offer three formats: PDF, epub, and ebook for Kindle. Which format you download depends on which device you are planning on reading the e-books on. If you like reading on your pc, or a large tablet - PDF would be the way to go. If you read via Amazon Kindle on either an actual Kindle, or though the Amazon Kindle app - you will need to download the Kindle (mobi or AZW3). For almost any other ereader, you will need the epub. Note: Amazon have recently come out and said that in late 2022, mobi and AZW3 files will no longer be supported on their devices - they are making the switch to epub. As of now, I will continue to offer Kindle files until I am sure that a) support for these files has stopped, and b) that epubs can be loaded onto Kindle devices via USB.
3. How do I put the e-books on my device?
There are so many devices nowadays it would be impossible to cover all of them, but you can find instructions for a few in this 'how-to' article.
PDFs, however, are the easy one - just click download and save the file to your pc. Open and read. You can also download PDFs to other devices but the smaller the device, the harder it will be to read, because unlike ebooks, PDFs don't resize well. Best to be read on larger screens.
4. Copyright issues.
I have checked all the books on my site, to ensure they are legally out of copyright. All the artwork on the covers also comes from public domain sources. Every effort has been made to ascertain this fact. However, if there is a book/artwork that you know is not in the public domain, please do let me know. I take copyright issues very seriously and do not wish to infringe upon the rights of others. Please contact me at julie@globalgreyebooks.com.
5. Can I request a book?
Yes! Feel free to email me at julie@globalgreyebooks.com, and let me know what book you want, and, providing it's out of copyright (I can check that for you), I will try my best!
6. Using books from the site.
I don't have an issue at all with people sharing the books, nor with teachers who wish to share the ebooks with their students. All the texts on Global Grey are in the public domain, so you are free to do whatever you want with them.
7. Site etiquette.
Technically there are no download limits on the site. The amount I pay for bandwidth allows for a healthy amount of downloads per person. However, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t download hundreds of books in one visit. This site isn't going anywhere - add it to your bookmarks and come back again.
8. Questions about the e-book collection.
1. How do I know it's safe to put in my card details?
6. How would I get the books on my ereader?
7. How and when do I get the updates?
8. What size is the collection?
★ How do I know it's safe to put in my card details?
I use PayPal to deal with the orders, which is a very secure system. You can pay through them using either your PayPal account (if you have one) or by normal credit or debit card. At no point does Global Grey capture your card details. The only details I will get is your name and email address, so I can send your order confirmation and updates.
★ What happens after I buy?
After you make your payment, PayPal will redirect you back to Global Grey, to a page which contains your zip folder/s, ready to download. I will send you an email as soon as I can, which will contain confirmation of your order, your download links page, and information about the dates when your updates will be due (£25 version of the entire collection only).
★ PayPal rejected my card.
I don't have any control over PayPal's policies or website. The most common problem is incorrectly entered details.
★ Can I transfer money directly to your bank account instead of paying by card, or make a 'donation' through Stripe?
Yes. If you go to the donation page, you will find my bank details. Please make sure, if you want to order this way, to email me at julie@globalgreyebooks.com and tell me your details. If you don't, I will have no idea who put the money in my bank account. If you want to pay by Stripe (using credit or debit card), just email me, make the 'donation' and I will be in touch to confirm things.
★ What format are the files in?
You will get all three formats: PDF, epub, and Kindle. The file name format is author_title. Exceptions are the Fiction and Religion folders/collections, which have further info for easy searching (author_title_genre and author_title_religion). In your collection, you will find a text file that shows you the genres (for fiction) and religions (for religion) that you can use to search for files.
★ How would I get the books on my ereader?
You can read the how-to article on getting the ebooks on various devices.
★ How and when do I get the updates? (£25 version of the entire collection only)
You will get updates every 4 months, for one year starting from the month you purchase your collection. For example, if you bought the collection on 15th February, your first update would be sent to you at the end of June, your second one at the end of October, and finally, the last one at the end of February the following year. You will be sent an email, which will have a special link. Clicking on the link will lead you to a page on Global Grey where you can download a zip folder containing all books added since your purchase or last update.
★ What size is the collection?
It's around 10 GB altogether, but the folders are also available to download in separate categories, in case you don't have the internet speeds for the entire download. So you can just download, say, the philosophy folder, or the occult folder, etc.
★ What if I wanted to continue my updates after my year has ended?
You can renew the updates for £10 per year.
9. My question isn't listed here.
You can email me at julie@globalgreyebooks.com, and I will answer you as soon as humanly possible. I'm in the UK, and I'm generally around from 5am till 7pm. If you email within these hours and don't get a reply back within a couple of hours, please do check your spam folder because I always reply - I'm nice like that.
