Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who runs this site and is it all legal?
2. Why do some books now cost money?
3. Why are the books priced in USD when you're based in the UK?
4. I’ve donated in the past. Do I have to pay now?
5. Do I have to create an account or sign up?
6. What formats are available?
7. How do I put the e-books on my device?
9. Questions about the e-book collection.
10. 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 13 years. The site is completely legal — every book is out of copyright and in the public domain. I reformat the texts and design new covers to make them more enjoyable to read.
2. Why do some books now cost money?
For many years, Global Grey has relied entirely on donations to cover hosting costs and the time it takes to prepare each book. Recently, donations have dropped while expenses have increased. To keep the site online, some books now have a small fee.
3. Why are the books priced in USD when you're based in the UK?
Although I’m based in the UK, the majority of my previous readers, customers, and donors have been from the United States. Pricing in USD allows for consistency and familiarity for most visitors to the site. It also helps reduce confusion with currency conversion at checkout. That said, anyone outside the US can still purchase the books — PayPal will display the amount in your currency during the checkout process.
4. I’ve donated in the past. Do I have to pay now?
If you’ve donated £10 or more in the past year, you’re very welcome to email me for free copies of any paid books — it’s my way of saying thank you for your support.
5. Do I have to create an account or sign up?
No. You never need to register or create an account.
6. What formats are available?
Each book is offered in PDF, epub, mobi, and azw3 formats, as well as an increasing number being available to read online, so you can read them on nearly any device.
7. 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.
8. Can I request a book?
Not at the moment, no. I have a lot of work going on right now, and don't have the time to undertake requests - sorry.
9. 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. 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.
★ 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, and your download links page.
★ 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 three formats: PDF, epub, and Kindle. The file name format is author_title.
★ How would I get the books on my ereader?
You can read the how-to article on getting the ebooks on various devices.
★ What size is the collection?
It's around 10 GB altogether, but you can download in either pdf, epub, or Kindle formats, both for the entire collection, and also for separate genres.
10. 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.
