Fantastic free ebooks and where to find them
THERE ARE MORE FREEBIES AVAILABLE THAN ANYONE COULD READ IN A LIFETIME: YOU JUST HAVE TO KNOW WHERE TO LOOK.
AS NICE AS it is to hold a paperback, it’s hard to beat a smartphone, tablet or e-reader that can store thousands of books. In some ways, the sheer number of options out there makes things harder, as it can be tricky to find what you want in the sea of titles. To help out, we’ve put together a guide to finding free (and safe) ebooks, covering some of the major online stores and websites.
SAFE EBOOKING
While it is possible to plug anything you want into your search engine of choice and find loads of freebies, it’s best avoided. The problem is that many free ebooks in PDF or ePub formats can contain malware (especially if zipped) that can exploit your system when opened. The best bet is to avoid any dodgylooking free ebook websites, especially if it offers supposedly free and legal copies of books that cost money elsewhere. If in doubt, our favourite method is to use an online service to read it. Downloaded PDFs and ePubs (or other formats) are benign unless opened, where they can take advantage of exploits in the reader software. Instead, upload the books to services such as Google Play Books. It’s then converted and opened in a browser or app — so any malicious code is bypassed and never run on your system. In general, any ebook sources accessible directly from a reader such as a Kindle is safe as well.
GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS
Super easy to use on a smartphone or computer, and with loads of free options, Google Play Books is a good place to start. Simply plugging in a search term will give loads of results, which can then be sorted by ‘free’. Unfortunately, there is no option to pick a genre and then sort by free. Instead, search for your genre (such as, Science Fiction) and include the word ‘free’ in the search terms. Just searching for the genre and then sorting by free does not actually show free ebooks. You can also upload ebooks in PDF or ePub format that have been downloaded from other sources.
AMAZON
The first point of call for Kindle owners, though it can also be used via a browser or smartphone app. While searching from a Kindle or app is a bit different, the Amazon store itself has a page for free and cheap ebooks ( goo.gl/3LigqI). Otherwise, pick your genre of choice and simple list the search results by cheapest first.
KOBO
www.kobo.com The only major alternative to Kindle e-readers, Kobo makes a range of hardware, including a waterproof model. Kobo also has a large eBook library — to find free titles, pick your genre and sort your search by lowest price first.
BOOKZZ www.bookzz.org
Self-appointed as the world’s largest ebook library, BookZZ has a good claim to that title, with over 2.7 million titles. The interface is
rather sparse, but it’s possible to find books on just about any topic you can imagine.
PROJECT GUTENBERG
www.gutenberg.org Project Gutenberg offers a (growing) collection of over 53,000 totally free ebooks. The books available are all legal — most available because of expired copyrights. The website is run by volunteers, who digitise and proofread the books before making them available in a range of popular formats.
OPEN LIBRARY
www.openlibrary.org With over 1 million free eBooks available, Open Library has something for everyone. It sounds weird, but there is also a section where you can borrow ebooks for free, which would otherwise cost money.
SMASHWORDS
www.smashwords.com With 70,000 or so free ebooks, Smashwords is not the largest library, but has an easy-to-use interface and solid content. Many of the books available are self-published by authors, with an interesting blend of genres.
INTERNET ARCHIVE
www.archive.org While tending more towards the academic, the Internet Archive has a huge library of
[ WWW.TECHLIFE.NET ]
millions of free ebooks and other content, such as music, software, movies and even archived websites. The Archive aims to be a comprehensive internet library, preserving knowledge for all to access.
FREE EBOOKS
www.free-ebooks.net Just as the name suggests, this site has a huge range of free ebooks that cover almost all genres. It also helps new authors self-publish, and has both an Android and iOS app available for easy reading.
LIBRIVOX
www.librivox.org Prefer to listen, rather than read? LibriVox has a huge number of free audiobooks available — mostly from the public domain, and read and recorded by volunteers.
WORLD DIGITAL LIBRARY
www.wdl.org History buffs rejoice — the World Digital Library has over 15,000 items covering events from 193 countries as far back as 8,000 BCE.
YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY
Don’t forget about your local bricks and mortar library, as many have comprehensive ebook sections, as well as other content, such as eMagazines.