A side-effect from my stint to sea:

I bought a fat pack of Shards of Alara, and it came with a 2-3 chapter sample book. I loved the storyline in that, but cannot afford to purchase the book alone (something like 30 bucks for it >>)

I know older sets had novels, but I cannot find them easily either. Do you know where I can find them in paperback/ebook?

Unfortunately securing any legitimate copies of Weatherlight/Odyssey books that aren't eye-gougingly expensive has been difficult. "Newer" blocks such as Odyssey, Mirrodin, Kamigawa, Ravnica, Time Spiral books should be easier to find on Amazon/eBay but still aren't the cheapest.

The Artifacts saga was anthologied as Artifacts Cycle I and Cycle II (available @ Amazon). If you're interested in pre-revisionist MTG lore these books are basically a required reading, as they explain Urza's and Dominaria's backstory.

I do, however, have text/PDF copies of the entire Weatherlight saga and portions of Odyssey saga available. I'll send you a PM when I get home from work with a link if you're interested.