No distancing from literature
There’s a wealth of free e-books and audiobooks during the coronavirus crisis.
There’s a wealth of free audiobooks and e-books to keep you company, and it’s all easy to access.
In the last week, publishers and audio entertainment companies have offered a deluge of free e-books and audiobooks to keep readers of all ages engaged while they’re hunkered down at home.
Parents, teachers and kids can choose from electronic editions of beloved stories such as Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” Ann McGovern’s “Stone Soup,” Jack London’s “The Call of the Wild” and Charlotte Brontë's “Jane Eyre.”
For audiobook fans, Penguin Random House Audio is among those offering free listens for families, including “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum. “As a mom myself, I know how challenging it can be to balance working from home and remote learning with kids home from school as well,” said Amanda D’Acierno, president and publisher of Penguin Random House Audio. “So many parents and teachers are looking for enriching indoor activities for kids right now.”
SoCal libraries may be closed but they still provide online free access to a multitude of e-books, audiobooks and other materials. Novelists, poets and children’s book authors are using social media to share readings and favorite stories.
Here’s a roundup of where you can find free books and listens from home in the weeks ahead.
Audiobooks
Audible: The spokenword producer has launched Audible Stories, which lets families listen to hundreds of free titles such as “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” narrated by Scarlett Johansson; “Anne of Green Gables,” read by Rachel McAdams; and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World.” The available books come in six languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German. Find it: The collection is at stories.audible.com.
Penguin Random House Audio: Through April 30, the publisher is offering free audiobook downloads of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” narrated by Brooke Shields and Paul Rudd; “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” narrated by a full cast; and Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” read by John Lee. Find it: The “Listen at Home” collection is accessible through the Volumes app, free for iOS and Android users.
L.A. Public Library: Use the Libby app to browse countless free audiobooks, 24/7, directly from your digital gadgets. Have your library card and PIN number handy; you’ll need them to sign in. Find it: Download the Libby app (compatible with iOS and Android devices) to access the catalog. More info at lapl.org.
Los Angeles County Library: This is another excellent option for free audiobooks. The library is offering temporary digital library cards for county residents who didn’t have them before the libraries shut down. Find it: Visit LACounty Library.org/library-cards to sign up for 90-day access.
LibriVox: Volunteers record books in the public domain and then release the audiobooks online for free. Available titles include “The Adventures of Puss in Boots Jr.” by David Cory and “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” by Jules Verne in Spanish. You can browse by author, title, genre and language, which includes ancient Greek, Arabic and Portuguese. If you’d rather record a book than listen to one, anyone can volunteer to do so. No prior experience required. Find it: Visit librivox.org.
Spotify: The streaming service boasts a wide selection of recordings and free audiobooks narrated by authors. Listen to Kurt Vonnegut read “Breakfast of Champions” and “Slaughter-house-Five,” Edna St. Vincent Millay reflect on love or Charles Bukowski recite his poetry. Find it: Sign up at spotify.com. Click on “Browser,” scroll down to “Word,” and enjoy.
E-books
L.A. Public Library: The Libby app also can be used to borrow e-books, magazines, graphic novels and other digital materials. Use the app to put e-media on hold (up to 15 titles) and browse themed collections compiled by library staff. Ebooks have the same 21-day checkout period as paper books, and you can renew them if there isn’t a waiting list. Residents get immediate access to digital reading materials. You also can download or stream movies, documentaries, music and podcasts and enroll in online courses. Find it: Download the Libby app to access the catalog. You can register for a free card at lapl.org.
Los Angeles County Library: You can also access ebooks through the county library system. Find it: Visit LACountyLibrary.org /library-cards to sign up for 90-day access.
Project Gutenberg: This is a library of more than 60,000 free e-books, assembled by thousands of volunteers who digitize and proofread digital media. No fee, registration or special apps are required. Titles are available in multiple languages. Find it: Visit gutenberg.org.
Scribd: Access e-books by bestselling authors such as Stephen King and Ann Patchett and other electronic materials at no cost (and no credit card) for 30 days. Find it: Visit scribd.com.
FreeBooksy: The website offers a daily selection of free e-books for Kindle, Nook, Apple and Kobo devices. Find it: Visit freebooksy.com.
Archipelago Books: The nonprofit is offering 30 free ebooks, including “A Dream in Polar Fog” by Yuri Rytkheu and “Absolute Solitude” by Dulce María Loynaz, until April 2. Find it: Go to archipelagobooks.org, click on the title you want to read, select one of two “ebook” options under “Format” and go to checkout.
Internet Archive: This nonprofit library offers free academic and historical books such as “An Embroidery Pattern Book” by Mary E. Waring, published in 1917. This week, the organization created the National Emergency Library, which suspends waitlists for the 1.4 million titles in its lending library. There’s also an online collection from the Smithsonian Libraries. Find it :Goto archive.org and click “Books” at the top.
Open Library: This is an open online project of Internet
Archive. Browse more than a million free e-books such as Roald Dahl’s “Matilda” and Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar.” Find it: Visit openlibrary.org and sign up for a free account.
PDF Books World: Download PDF versions of poetry, plays, nonfiction and literary classics such as “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald and “Les Misérables” by Victor Hugo. Find it: Visit pdfbooks world.com.
ManyBooks: Browse thousands of free books, including Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet.” Find it: Go to manybooks.net and search by title, author or keyword.
Feedbooks: Discover and download thousands of public-domain books such as “Little Women” and “Peter Pan.” Find it: Visit feed books.com and click on the “Public Domain” tab at the top.
International Children’s Digital Library: You’ll find award-winning books for various reading levels, including a collection of Mother Goose nursery rhymes. Browse literature in Hindi, Mongolian and other languages. Find it: Go to en.childrenslibrary.org. Registration is optional, but registered users can select a preferred language and save books to a personal shelf
Virtual story times & poetry
The Poetry Foundation:
Launched by Poetry magazine, the foundation has a vast collection of some of the best poetry ever written. Check out the work of former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith as a starting place. Find it: Visit poetryfoundation.org or download the free Poetry app on Amazon, iTunes or Google Play.
Instagram: Social media is a rich place to find the work of aspiring and professional writers. Search for “poems” on Instagram, for example, and you’ll find dozens for free. Check out the work of Yesika Salgado, an L.A.-born Salvadoran poet who writes about love and culture, her family and the city she calls home. Find it: Go to instagram.com and sign up for an account.
Lunch Doodles: Awardwinning children’s author and illustrator Mo Willems partnered with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to provide free, virtual art lessons every weekday. New “Lunch Doodles” episodes are published at 10 a.m. Pacific time and can be streamed online afterward. Find it: Search kennedy-center.org /education/mo-willems.
#OperationStoryTime: Search this hashtag online and you’ll find authors reading their children’s books in a series organized by Romper, a website for millennial moms. Catch Dan Gutman reading “Miss Blake Is a Fake!” from his “My Weird School” series, or watch Susie Jaramillo singread “Little Sunny Sunshine” in English and Spanish. Find it: Visit Instagram, Facebook or YouTube and search for #operationstory time.
#SaveWithStories: Celebrities such as Amy Adams and Natalie Portman are helping ease children’s coronavirus anxieties by lending their voices to the #SaveWithStories initiative, which raises funds for kids who don’t have meals while schools are closed. Jennifer Garner recently read Jan Brett’s winter wonderland tale “The Mitten” and Josh Gad, who voices Olaf in the “Frozen” movies, read Shel Silverstein’s classic “The Giving Tree.” Find it: Search #savewithstories on Instagram or Twitter. Learn more about the initiative and how to help at savethe children.org.
Sonnet a Day: Patrick Stewart, star of “X-Men” and “Star Trek: Picard,” has been been reciting Shakespeare on Twitter. Find it: Visit @SirPatStew on Twitter.