In the U.S. at least it’s about to be a holiday weekend, which might mean some laying by the pool time, or some running off into the corner to escape family time.  Either way, you might want a book with you.  I’ve always found science fiction and fantasy to be great summer reading, so here’s a conveniently affordable way to stock up on some summer novels.

The new Humble Bundle, typically for video games, is the Humble eBook Bundle 2 – a way to pay what you want for a group of books. And this is a great bunch of books. The main four are Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (young adult fight-the-system awesomeness), Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (steampunk and zombies, need I say more?), Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (Hugo-award-winning “aliens are out there” story), and Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold (the first book in the fan favorite Vorkosigan saga). Also, if you pay more than the average (which as of this writing is about $8 but fluctuating every second), then you will also get copies of Wil Wheaton’s Just a Geek and the classic novel The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. All the books are DRM-free and can be downloaded in multiple formats or sent straight to your e-reader of choice. And when you pay (whatever you want!) you can choose how to divide your payment between the authors, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Child’s Play charity, or the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America.

Also less well known than the Humble Bundle is the new-ish website StoryBundle, which operates in the same way but is all books all the time. They change their bundle offerings every once in a while, and they’re genre themed – the current bundle happens to be science fiction as well. Unlike the books above, I’m not familiar with these, but there are some familiar authors: Hopscotch by Kevin J. Anderson, In Hero Years… I’m Dead by Michael A. Stackpole, On My Way to Paradise by David Farland, Santiago by Mike Resnick, Swarm by B.V. Larson, and The Disappeared by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. This set also has a bonus: If you pay at least $10 you’ll also get High Opp by Dune author Frank Herbert and The Stars in Shroud by Gregory Benford. You choose how to split the proceeds between the writers and StoryBundle, and whether to donate to one of two charities: Girls Write Now and Mighty Writers. Like Humble Bundle, the books are DRM-free and come in a variety of formats.

If you’ve read any of these books, let us know in the comments which ones you recommend! And happy reading.

[Humble eBook Bundle 2 | StoryBundle]