Where to Read Books Online for Free
Reading is a great way to sharpen your language skills, broaden your knowledge, increase empathy, and so on. But books can be expensive, leaving many unable to afford them.
That's why many people choose to read books online for free. However, you may have to sift through many pirated sites to find lawful online libraries. We have created a comprehensive guide on how to get free reading materials on websites that offer free resources online.
Where to Find Free eBooks
Project Gutenberg has a library of over 60,000 free online books, mainly older works for which U.S. copyright has expired. The site specializes in classics by some of the most notable authors of young adult books of all time like Jane Austen and William Shakespeare.
BookBub is a platform where authors and publishers can introduce their work. It features limited-time free (and discounted) books available on various sites. These sites include Google Play Books, Apple Books, Kobo, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.
Manybooks is a similar platform where self-publishing authors can introduce their work. New books are uploaded to their site daily, and you can find plenty of classics as well. The site provides PDF books for free, among many formats.
The Library of Congress Online Catalog contains millions of documents and online books. It also has many photographs, films, manuscripts, music, etc.
Comic Book Plus is a great place to read free public-domain comic books. The comics on this site were published from 1938 to 1970.
Where to Find Free Audiobooks
Digitalbook works like a search engine to find free audiobooks (and eBooks) in the public domain. It is simple, easy to use, and accessible no matter where you live.
Librivox has over 10,000 public-domain audiobooks read by volunteers. If you are wondering how to read books online for free in different languages, this site is for you. Audiobooks, recorded in dozens of languages, are free to download and listen to. Because the site relies on volunteer recordings, audio quality may vary.
Lit2Go is a service that offers audiobooks of many stories and poems in Mp3 format. You can also download each book as a pdf.
Audible Free Listens enables you to stream hundreds of free audiobooks and podcasts. You do not need an Audible subscription to access Audible Free Listens. All you need is an amazon account. The site provides both abridged and unabridged audiobooks.
Other places to find free reading materials
Public libraries are an excellent means to get free book resources. They tend to have many physical books, eBooks, and audiobooks.
Book giveaways are a great way to win books. Websites that host giveaways include Riveted (age: 13+), the StoryGraph (age: 16+ or with parental consent), Goodreads (age: 18+), Barnes and Noble (age: 18+), and BookishFirst (age: 18+).
Receive a free copy of a book in exchange for an honest review on websites like LibraryThing (age: 13+), NetGalley (age: 18+), and Reedsy (age: 18+).
Final Thoughts on Free Online Books
We hope you find these tips helpful, and we're sure you'll discover some great free books online! Looking to chat with someone about where you can find other helpful resources and readings? Sign up for a free tutoring session with UPchieve today and get help on any research projects you may have!