Hey Kindle Clippers,
Are you looking for free ebooks, yet don't know where to start? Well, here's the good news. Not only are there tons of free ebooks just waiting to be read - but they are simple to find. Truth be told, there are so many sites offering free ebooks, I was not sure where to start. And with so many worthy sites, it was hard to cover them all. The ones listed below all have some great offerings. They may not be for everyone...it depends on what genre of books you are after. So let’s sift through it.
TIP: Remember to download the correct file format.
Choose MOBI for kindle devices.
Amazon
Amazon is an easy way to find freebies for your kindle. They are conveniently tucked away under the Kindle Bestseller List . Just look for the 2 side-by-side tabs, Top 100 Paid - Top 100 Free (as shown above). There's plenty to like about Amazon's free ebooks. Books download directly to your kindle, so there's no fiddling around. Amazon's website is super easy to navigate. The list is updated hourly. Book ratings and reviews are displayed. Need I say more. If you love to bury yourself in the fiction, romance, science-fiction and murder mystery genres...then Amazon is for you.
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a well-respected and long-established ebook site. It's best known for its selection of classics, and older works for which copyright has expired. The site is dependent on the volunteers that run it and donations from readers. Gutenberg houses over 60,000 books, and so it's collection is impressive. You can download books or read them online. As can be expected, the website itself - which is solely dependent on volunteers - is a little outdated. But that aside, if you are looking for classics to read, or searching for a particular title/author - then this is a very useful site to visit.
Overdrive
Overdrive is a worthwhile site for ebook borrowing. The only catch is, you need a library card or student card to use it. Many (major city) libraries and schools are registered with Overdrive - click here to see if yours is. There are many pro's to using this site. For one, it's user-friendly, and caters for a super-smooth browsing experience. It features a New York Times Bestsellers list and has advanced searching functions too. Like all libraries, it has books in every genre. Signing up is a breeze with it's 'How-to-get-started' videos. The only drawback is that not everyone can access it.
eReaderIQ
eReaderIQ keeps you ahead with all the hottest titles from Amazon. It will notify you the moment any new books are released and it's website is updated hourly. You can also be notified when there is a price-drop on your favourite book, or when your favourite author releases a new one. It's searchable features are impressive. Search by title, author, category, length of story (short-medium-long) and even when books were released (since midnight -- 7 hrs ago -- 24 hrs ago -- since my last visit)...you get the drift.
Manybooks
With over 50,000 free ebooks, Manybooks literally has many titles to choose from. This is an easy-to-navigate site with an impressive selection of genres. It's hard not to be impressed with its Pirate Tales category? Readers ratings and reviews are displayed which takes the guesswork out of choosing. It has a Now Trending and Editor's Choice section where you'll spot some popular titles. You will have to sign up to download your book, but it will only take a sec. Manybooks features a regular blog and editorial review if you want to stay in-the-know. Just remember that not all books are free, so you will have to sift the priced ones to find the free ones.
Free-eBooks.net
Free-eBooks stands out for its impressive selection of genres - and also includes academic publications and textbooks. From books on tech, education, marketing, writing and publishing, philosophy, travel, web design and cooking - there's plenty to browse. You will need to sign up (for free), which then entitles you to 5 free books a month. For more than 5 books per month, you will have to upgrade for a subscription. Free-eBooks prides itself on "revealing new/independent authors, creative writers and even daring provocateurs!"
Smashwords
Smashwords is a free ebook publishing and distribution platform, and is famous for its indie books. With over 70,000 free ebooks, it definitely boasts a formidable selection. There is much to like about this site. For one, it's easy to navigate. Books come in a wide variety of languages. For the free books, you can choose to pay a small fee to the author, or you can choose to take it free - the choice is yours. If you are an up-and-coming author, check out Mark Coker's podcast on how to publish your ebook like a pro.
As a reminder, you can always import the Kindle notes and highlights you make on these free ebooks. Just follow the instructions on our previous blog article here.
And that's just a little food for thought. There is comfort in knowing that there is an online-library, with an endless lifetime supply of books...just waiting to be discovered. Where to start? You may decide never to spend money on books ever again.
Keep exporting your kindle clippings + happy reading :)
Liz - from The Clippings Team