If you're a voracious reader who's just gone digital, you must be loving the convenience of having all your books on you at any time, along with the extra features such as search, definitions, and highlights..
Whether you're using an e-reader like the Kindle or you're reading books on your phone or tablet, there are a lot of things to love, most of all the fact that it has also become incredibly simple to buy the books you want to read. Devices and apps all come with their own marketplaces, and it's pretty easy to rack up a big bill quickly.
But there are plenty of places where you can get great books without spending a single rupee - and we're not suggesting that you pirate books either. There are several legal free resources for books around the Internet. Most of these only offer old books that are no longer copyrighted - this means that you won't find books like A World of Ice and Fire - but that still leaves thousands of classics that you'll have to pay to buy in print.
Here are our favourite sites where you can legally download free ebooks to read on a Kindle, tablet, phone or even your PC:
Baen is an American publisher that focuses on science fiction and fantasy writing, and its ebook store is well known for its reasonable pricing and for other consumer-friendly features like the lack of DRM, which means you can copy the books across devices without restriction. The publisher has a roster of well-known writers including Lois McMaster Bujold, John Scalzi, and Michael A Stackpole, though it's the work of its lesser-known writers that you'll find on the free section on Baen's website.
Feedbooks is a good looking site that opens equally well on mobile devices, which makes it very convenient to use if you're primarily reading on your mobile phone or tablet. This way, you can save your self the trouble of needing to downloading books on a PC and moving files between devices.
Most people have probably heard of Project Gutenberg. Run entirely on the effort of volunteers, Gutenberg is probably the oldest digital library, and houses over 48,000 ebooks. It has them in various formats, from plain-text to Kindle friendly formats to epubs.
Gutenberg even has a collection of audiobooks if you want. These range from ones read out by the computer, to ones that volunteers read out.
The website itself can be a little intimidating to use with books being nested behind several layers of navigation, but it's still possibly the most exhaustive resource for free books online.
Quite unlike Herman Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener, who was most uncooperative, Bartleby the website is a great resource, particularly for students. The site contains a huge number of readings, classics from literature, and also has a large collection of non-fiction that includes works of political and social history.
Another free resource for public domain books, Open Library is great because it has lists people can create, which you can also see - so for example, there's a list of historical romance novels, and a list of books on the fur trade. Or you could search for all books about Istanbul, for example, in the subjects view. These tools make it easy to find the next book to read, which is handy if you're not too familiar with the older books you find in these free libraries.
Whether you're using an e-reader like the Kindle or you're reading books on your phone or tablet, there are a lot of things to love, most of all the fact that it has also become incredibly simple to buy the books you want to read. Devices and apps all come with their own marketplaces, and it's pretty easy to rack up a big bill quickly.
But there are plenty of places where you can get great books without spending a single rupee - and we're not suggesting that you pirate books either. There are several legal free resources for books around the Internet. Most of these only offer old books that are no longer copyrighted - this means that you won't find books like A World of Ice and Fire - but that still leaves thousands of classics that you'll have to pay to buy in print.
Here are our favourite sites where you can legally download free ebooks to read on a Kindle, tablet, phone or even your PC:
1. Baen Free Library
Link =>> Baen Free LibraryBaen is an American publisher that focuses on science fiction and fantasy writing, and its ebook store is well known for its reasonable pricing and for other consumer-friendly features like the lack of DRM, which means you can copy the books across devices without restriction. The publisher has a roster of well-known writers including Lois McMaster Bujold, John Scalzi, and Michael A Stackpole, though it's the work of its lesser-known writers that you'll find on the free section on Baen's website.
2. Feedbooks
Link =>> FeedbooksFeedbooks is a good looking site that opens equally well on mobile devices, which makes it very convenient to use if you're primarily reading on your mobile phone or tablet. This way, you can save your self the trouble of needing to downloading books on a PC and moving files between devices.
3. Project Gutenberg
Link =>> Project GutenbergMost people have probably heard of Project Gutenberg. Run entirely on the effort of volunteers, Gutenberg is probably the oldest digital library, and houses over 48,000 ebooks. It has them in various formats, from plain-text to Kindle friendly formats to epubs.
Gutenberg even has a collection of audiobooks if you want. These range from ones read out by the computer, to ones that volunteers read out.
The website itself can be a little intimidating to use with books being nested behind several layers of navigation, but it's still possibly the most exhaustive resource for free books online.
4. Bartleby
Link =>> BartlebyQuite unlike Herman Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener, who was most uncooperative, Bartleby the website is a great resource, particularly for students. The site contains a huge number of readings, classics from literature, and also has a large collection of non-fiction that includes works of political and social history.
5. Open Library
Link =>> Open LibraryAnother free resource for public domain books, Open Library is great because it has lists people can create, which you can also see - so for example, there's a list of historical romance novels, and a list of books on the fur trade. Or you could search for all books about Istanbul, for example, in the subjects view. These tools make it easy to find the next book to read, which is handy if you're not too familiar with the older books you find in these free libraries.
