I love absolutely love reading! I am a real bookworm. And I continually search for the best ways to get free books online. Why? Because books can be pretty expensive!
While there is something about reading physical books, a Kindle or an e-reader has so many perks that makes it such a great thing to own. there are so many great authors to choose from these days, it can be hard to decide what to read.
Imagine its late at night, and you want to read a book, but you never made it to the library. With a kindle, you can get all the books you want on the spot without having to leave your house during business hours. Nor do you have to wait for a delivery from a bookstore.
It is also extremely light to if anyone has issues holding heavy books, this is a huge bonus. Kindles are also great if you don’t have a lot of space- instead of having to have stacks of books cluttering your home, you can have them all conveniently located in one small device. That is also great if you travel. No need to commit yourself to one or two books- you can take your whole bookshelf with you! You don’t need to have an e-reader to be able to read online. You can use various devices, including any web browser, various apps, like the Kindle app, and other e-reader devices.
Now that I’ve sold you on the perks of reading books digitally, here are some of the best places to get free books online.
3 places that have free books online
1. Overdrive
Many public library systems use Overdrive for their ebook collections. Yes, libraries have extensive online book options. You can easily download free books from your library system. I like to use the Libby app to use Overdrive from my phone. That works the same as a physical library. You can check out books, place books on hold, and even recommend books for the library to purchase. The best part? No late fees. Since books are automatically returned on their return date, there is no chance of you forgetting to return them and having to pay fees. So this really is free. No money has to leave your hands to use Overdrive. All you need is a regular library card and you are set!
2. Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a digital library that uploads free public domain ebooks to make them available to the public. It’s an excellent resource for free ebooks, but it can be hard to find books you might be interested in reading if you don’t know what you are looking for. Here is how to get the books from Project Gutenberg to your Kindle, and here is a list of 2780+ Project Gutenberg books you can download- divided by category.
3. Amazon free ebooks
Yes, Amazon has some kindle ebooks for free! Simply search for ebooks and sort the price from low to high. Make sure only to pick books that have $0.00 as the Kindle price. That is more of a hit and miss as it depends on which books Amazon decides to put on sale at any given point.
However, if you are a Prime Member, you have access to Prime Reading. This service will allow you to read as much as you want over a thousand books, magazines, comics and more. You can also seamlessly switch between reading and listening thanks to Audible Narration. You can also enjoy Prime Reading with any device (not just Kindle) thanks to the Kindle app. Sign up for an Amazon Prime membership today!
2 ways to get creative to get free books online
1. No-rush rewards for Prime members
This one is specifically for Prime members. Before you order that item, check if Amazon is offering you a free digital credit for having your order delayed. If you do not need your order within the 2-day time frame, then its worth it to get the credit. Sometimes your package will still arrive before the later shipping date. These no-rush rewards can be used to purchase eBooks from Amazon’s Kindle collection. Be warned: these credits expire, so you want to use them before they do or message Amazon to see if they will extend them for you (YMMV).
2. Sign up for author emails
Authors want you to read their books so they will often host giveaways or let you know of deals for their books. Google an author that you particularly like and sign up for their emails, and maybe you can enter to win a free book!
13 sites that have free books online in various formats
1. Freebooks.net
It is a website that allows you to download five free ebooks a month. This is an easy way to download and read free ebooks.
2. E-books.net
eBooks.net has popular classics available free of charge. Once you add them to your bookshelf, then they are yours. No need to return!
3. Manybooks.net
Manybooks.net has many free ebooks available for download in various formats. Not all books are free, but they do have a lot of free options to look through.
4. Freecomputerbooks.com
This site is the place to go if you are looking for a computer, math, or technical books. They don’t actually have the books, but they redirect you to sites that do have them. It is an excellent place to go if you are looking for a specific book and you don’t want to spend money on it.
5. Book Lending
This is only good for Kindle books. This virtual swap website allows you to lend and borrow books from other members. You can only borrow each book once (and lend each book once), so choose wisely and go quickly if you see something you want. That is only available for Kindle users, and you will need an Amazon account to make it work.
6. DigiLibraries
It has a list of different free eBooks from publishers and authors. Just browse through and get the books you want (up to 50 books a day).
7. The Reader Cafe
The Reader Cafe lists free eBooks on Amazon and on other sites.
8. OpenLibrary
Lots of adult and kids book available to borrow!
9. Internet Archive
It is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more. You can borrow books for up to two weeks.
10. BookBoon
It is a free library of educational books. They have thousands to free textbooks and business books, although some are only available if you sign up for a paid subscription.
11. Open Culture
This site has a list of 800 free eBooks that are available for download on Kindle, iPad/iPhone, computer, smartphone, or e-reader.
12. Online Books
This site has millions of free books. This very bare-bone site boasts that it has over 3 million books available for download.
13. Planet E-book
It is the home to free classic literature. They take a small selection of classical novels that have expired copyrights and redo them to make them easier and better to read.
4 free trials to sign up to get free books online
These programs are all subscription-based, but all these programs have free trials of varying lengths. If you cancel in time, then you will get books for free. Only do this if you can remember to cancel in time (set a notification on your phone) or if you can afford the monthly fee:
1. Kindle Unlimited
It is a subscription service run by Amazon that gives you access to thousands of books to read free on your Amazon Kindle for a monthly fee. However, they do give you a free trial that you can cancel at any time.
2. Reading IQ
Has thousands of children’s books for kids at all levels, starting from pre-readers and moving up. They also have books in Spanish. You can get one month free when you sign up.
3. EPIC
This is another kid’s reading resource. That is more of a teaching resource, and it allows you to track your kid’s progress and personalize your kids reading. This is great if you are planning on homeschooling this year. They have a free 7-day trial for parents.
4. Scribd
It has unlimited free books and audiobooks and tons of magazines when you sign up for their subscription. They have a free 30-day trial.
Final words
This list of digital books should keep you occupied for some time! Happy reading bookworms!
If you need some more inspiration on what to read, check out my Ultimate Personal Finance Book List!
This article originally appeared on Your Money Geek and has been republished with permission.
