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Books are a trail that takes you to places never visited before. May it is a real city, situation, or completely another world or universe, books have a way of making you feel homesick for destinations unknown. Any bibliophile will surely relate to a situation where they choose books over people. Even those people can earn money from reading books.
Your favorite paperback or hardcover book may make you feel cherished, loved, and even melancholy. You may love indulging in your most beloved characters’ lives and finding new ones to add to your collection. Though insanely pleasurable, the struggle of finding timeless classics or simply any book is undoubtedly tiring.
Certain places or libraries do not offer the set of books that you have been looking for for a long time. And others cost you a lot to get a hold of copies you have been wanting. Again some other places require bothersome subscriptions and registrations, which are costly and may burn a hole in your pocket.
But by dodging all these problems, you can still enter your literary world by using technology. Free E-books are the future of concrete libraries, providing more convenience when reading and helping you save a few extra bucks.
The comfort you can get by accessing free books online from a virtual screen is more natural and hassle-less. Moreover, books in hard copies require a lot of physical space, while maintaining a virtual library and e-books save you room and money.
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21 Places to Read Free Books Online and Download
Several websites, apps, and software can make it easy to access free books online and read without spending a dime. If you are a frugal bibliophile, the following places are for you to read and download free books online.
1. Try Google
The first choice and hub of everything knowledge and information – Google allows you to read free books from their archives. A simple Google search might help you access free books online.
Set your search tool as ‘free’ on Google, and you are ready to hunt all free online books available with Google.
Sites that allow you to read free books online:-
2. Project Gutenberg
The true ancestor of all books online – Project Gutenberg, was set up in 1971 and opened the doors of a digital literary world. The site currently has over 58,000 free books online on their site. You can locate almost all timeless classics with them and enter the era you belong to with a book in hand.
Though the site is free, you can still show the site some love and donate to the cause.
3. Open Library
Expanding at a marvelous pace, Open Library provides most books that contemporary e-readers want to read. With an impressive depository of 1 million books, Open Library provides a rich abundance to read from while it is increasing its collection even more.
You can access all free books online from the Internet’s archive by signing up with them. If you don’t find a book, you can waitlist it, and it may be added to read for free soon.
4. Internet Archive
Basically, a search engine – an Internet archive is a place to find books or pages that are hard to find or not available elsewhere. The site acts as a reservoir for books that are old and available in limited editions or copies not possessed by many people or not easily accessible. It has an enormous collection of 466 antique pages waiting to be read.
5. Smashwords
An enormous collection of about 507,000 books, available for free online and otherwise, makes Smashwords a site worth trying. Ranging over widespread genres and niches, the site is open for anyone willing to browse its free section.
Apply the ‘free’ filter, and all the books ready to be read will be out there for you.
See also : 15 Legal Ways to Get Free Cable TV Online
6. Library Genesis
Though the means of Library Genesis are not completely justified, it is complete heaven for science fanatics. A Russia-based search engine, Library Genesis allows you to search for free books to read online.
Along with books, even science-related articles are present on the search engine that can be downloaded in PDF versions. The site is available in multiple ways and with domain names.
In case you want to get rid of your old books and go completely paperless, then we’d recommend reading up on our review of sellbackyourbook.com where you can sell your old books and get some good cash!
7. Open Culture
Well-versed with famous writers like William Shakespeare and Arthur C. and Mark Twain, Open Culture allows readers to download free books. Also, the site has a collection of about 1000 audiobooks.
The site even delivers poetic works and ranges from other fictionary and non-fictionary works. Moreover, there are even websites that pay to read books online.
8. Bookboon
It is a great option for students reading about particular topics and subjects. It is an online platform and completely free of cost. Bookboon provides ebooks to the reader in pdf format. The variety of books available for reading ranges from educational books to business textbooks and so on. It is easy to use, and user-friendly website. It also does not require any registration process, and reading material is available to you with just at one click.
9. GoodReads
It is a website where one can read quality books and also keep track of all the previously read books and future wish-list. You have to set up an account and register on the website to access its features.
GoodReads also allows connecting with other readers on the platform, whether they are your friends or strangers. It is a social networking site for book lovers. You can also share what you have read and know what other people are reading at the time.
10. Free-Ebooks.net
This site provides thousands of free books to read on their website. The books are available in every genre. Books are available for children, parents, philosophy, religion, science, etc. You have to register and set up an account, and then you can download the book you want to read anytime for free.
11. FeedBooks
It is a website where you can get all books related to literature and novels. Basic popular novels and stories by famous authors are available here. The books are available in many formats; you can choose the one you wish to read. It is a website where you can get all books related to literature and novels.
Basic popular novels and stories by famous authors are available here. The books are available in many formats; you can choose the one you wish to read. Registration is not required; you can also download the books for offline reading. This site is fast website and also easy to navigate.
Read and Download Free Books with Amazon
You can borrow and lend books with Amazon in several ways. It is easy to find free books online with help from Amazon. Doing this will save you a lot of money and help you read to your heart’s desire.
12. Borrow books from your Amazon Users
If your friend has a book you want to read for free online, you can ask them to lend it to you via Amazon.
All your friend has to do is go to their Kindle library, search for the book you want, and then lend it to you through your email address.
You can keep the book for 14 days, while your friend cannot read it for that duration.
13. Kindle Library for Owners
As a Prime Amazon member, you can easily access Kindle Owner’s Lending Library books. With more than 800,000 and no return dates for borrowed books, you can read famous and quite interesting books.
The library only works for Prime members and can be accessed on Kindle.
14. Amazon First Reads
If you have exhausted all libraries available and still nothing quenches your thirst, read with Amazon First Reads. With this, you can work on newly released books and other editor’s choice books for free. Again, this is a feature reserved for Amazon Prime members.
Apps to Read Free Books Online
Carrying a whole library in your pocket has become easier than with the convenience of having access to free and download free books online. Several apps allow you to read for free without any charges. Following is a list of all mobile tools where you can find books of your choice.
15. AnyBooks
An Android-friendly app, AnyBooks lets you read just any book that is out there. The literature on the app is available in six (6) languages, and thus it is even more useful if you want to find a book in a language other than English.
The app has also begun a program where amateur writers can submit their works through email and get it published in the app’s library. The process of both reading and writing with AnyBooks is completely free.
16. Wattpad
Available in both website and app forms, Wattpad is a platform that helps young and amateur writers connect with the literary world for free. Specially designed as a literary stage for writers and readers to communicate and exchange views and ideas, Wattpad allows you to read new writers’ works.
The app mostly contains new works of aspiring writers than more celebrated ones’, but it is still worth trying keeping in mind that it is for free. You can also read free books offline and sync them on your devices. It is available for both iOS and Android devices.
17. Kobo
Providing a varied range of formats to download and read your books in, Kobo is available for both iOS and Android devices. There is a wide collection of both paid and free books from which you can choose the ones you want to read.
You can connect with your friends and share your reading preferences with them. Also, you can give and receive suggestions relating to what you may want to read. You can try this to Read Free Books Online.
18. Kindle App
An extension of the Kindle Fire tablet – the Kindle app is an exclusive app providing you the accessibility to reading innumerable free books. It is specially designed as compensation for those who do not possess the tablet.
Though the app is appreciation worthy, having the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet adds to one’s reading experience.
19. Oodles’s Ebook Reader
Spread out in various categories – Oodle’s reader app helps you gain access to nearly 50,000 free books online. The genres available are highly indulged by readers and well-read. This can be the best app to Read Free Books Online.
The layout and the background of the app are highly customizable. The background is made to look papery to provide an illusion of reading from a traditional book. Also, you can read the book with the screen split into page views, where pages lay adjacent to each other as in a paperback book. The screen’s brightness, text coloration, etc., are customizable as necessary.
20. Aldiko
An app with a free library to help you read uncountable free books online is also available in a premium version. The library comes at no extra cost and thus can be read for free. It has books by various famous authors and thus is able enough to help you get your hands on a good read.
It is also designed so the readers can customize the app background, spacing, and text to their preference.
21. Overdrive
A library-connected app is available for iOS, Android, and Microsoft – Overdrive can be used at a local library. If your area’s library is connected with Overdrive, all you need is a library card from that library. Then, you must create an account and enter your card number and pin. Now, borrow books from Overdrive that are available in your local library’s online portal.
Download free books or read free books online in various formats. You can even download free books from Amazon using Overdrive. The books must be returned in the same period you would at your library.
FAQ’S
Are all of these sites/apps completely free?
Yes, these sites/apps are completely free and do not have any hidden costs involved, and can be accessed anywhere, anytime.
Are all these websites legit?
Yes, all these websites have been thoroughly researched, do not have any scams involved, and are safe to use.
Which is the best website out of all of them?
It's pretty tricky to conclude because all the websites have ups and downs. The individual has to see which one best suits their needs and decide upon one.
Final Words
Reading books is a hobby that does not need an explanation, excuse, or apology to be enjoyed. If book readers are ever stuck in a place without a book, it will be outrageous and intolerable.
So, use these websites and apps to Read Free Books Online, and start reading without carrying heavy paperbacks in your bag and without losing any more money. The love for reading has no longer to be costly and burdensome with these options providing free books online. Try these and start reading right away!