Top 20 Ways to Find Free Books (eBooks) Online
This post is purely my own opinion and was not influenced by outside companies. As with all opinions on this site, please check out these suggestions yourself to ensure that you feel they are safe, especially when downloading. This post may contain referral/affiliate links. If you buy something, Top 20 Ways may earn a commission (which helps this site continue). Read the full disclosure here.
Whether you are a frequent reader or now finding that have some time to fill, these sites can provide a wealth of books and they are all free!
1. Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a long-time favorite with approximately 56,000 free ebooks, including a small collection of audiobooks. Even more exciting, after a 20-year hiatus, the U.S. Annual Copyright Term Expiry began again in January, 2019, which resulted in even more public domain offerings.
2. Apple Books
Due to COVID-19, Apple Books is offering a wide-ranging collection of free titles in various genres called “Stay At Home Books”
3. Kindle
From free classics to great deals, there's a book for every budget on Kindle.
4. BookBub
By signing up for notifications, BookBub can notify you when a book you want is discounted or even free. They offer free ebooks daily, so check their site often.
5. Baen Books
If you are a science fiction or fantasy fan, you probably already know about Baen Books. It was established in 1983 by science fiction writer Jim Baen. In addition to books for sale, there are over 60 free ebooks available to download in several formats. You will need to provide them with a name and email address for their records.
6. Feedbooks
Founded in 2007 in Paris, Feedbooks has a large library of public domain books (free ebooks) available for download. This site is known for its ease of use with mobile devices. While they do offer bestsellers and other books for sale, the sheer number of free books is impressive.
7. Loyal Books
Loyal Books used to be called Books Should be Free. It offers a large collection of free classic audiobooks as well as free ebooks
8. Europeana
Europeana allows you to virtually visit every major museum and national library in Europe. Launched in 2008, over 3,000 European institutions contribute to this site on culture heritage. To find free ebooks, search for "text" and "public domain".
9. DPLA
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is the American version of Europeana and includes photographs, maps, museum objects and artwork, government documents and much more. On this site, there is more information about:
HathiTrust with millions of books online including digital content from research libraries.
Open eBooks is an app containing thousands of popular and award-winning titles that are free for kids from underprivileged communities.
Also check with Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and Freebooksy, who all offer free ebook downloads that change daily.
10. Google Play
Check out Google Play here to see apps, games, music, movies, TV, books, magazines & more
11 through 13: Overdrive, Libby, or Hoopla
Depending our your local library’s subscription, you should be able to access with Overdrive, Libby, or Hoopla to enjoy almost every book available in online format. There will probably be a waiting list for bestsellers but feel free to get on the list and read something else while you are waiting.
14. Viz Media
Viz Media offers action, adventure, fantasy, mystery, romance and more—thousands of manga volumes for every fan!
15. Comixology
Fans of comics will love Comixology
16. OpenCulture
Cultural and educational media can be found at OpenCulture including audio books.
17. Bookboon
Try Bookboon for access to over 1000 textbooks
18. Feedbooks
Check out the public domain section at Feedbooks.
19. Library Genesis
Free access to millions of your favorite books as ebooks – fiction, fantasy, crime, science fiction, romance, thriller, textbooks, academic works, graphic novels, comics – in epub, pdf, mobi and many other formats. Instructions here.
20. All You Can Books (free for 30 days)
Try All You Can Books with over 40,000 books & works on all major devices
Ebook File Types
So what does this all mean? Do you need to run out and buy a Kindle or Nook? Not necessarily Almost every free download allows you to read it on your laptop, tablet, or mobile device. You just need to understand the different ebook file types and use a great open source software called Calibre (for Windows, Mac, or Linux) to get your device to recognize the book. For a demo of Calibre, click here. Note: while Calibre is successful in converting most files types, .PDFs do not normally convert well. Click here for more information about conversion types.
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