Free Online Books

Where Can I Find Free Ebooks?

With the advent of the Amazon Kindle, Sony's eReader and other ebook readers, you can carry a whole library of books without breaking your back. However, paying for all those ebook downloads at $10 a pop can still break the bank. But you CAN get them for free if you know where to look. Here are a handful of places to download free ebooks...

Gutenberg

Gutenberg, named after the inventor of the movable type printing press, was established in 1971 by Michael Hart, the inventor of the eBook. There are over 28,000 ebook titles available, with a total of 100,000 through their partners and affiliates. Their catalogue includes an advanced search feature, a nightly updating and the top 100 books and authors. They even have an RSS feed of the new entries. Books come in almost every language and format.

If you have a Kindle, you can use the built-in browser to download TXT (plain text) files from Gutenberg, or download ebooks to your computer, then transfer them to the reader device via a USB cable. Many of the Gutenberg titles can also be downloaded in a Kindle-friendly file format (for easier reading) from MobiPocket or ManyBooks.

Bartebly

Bartleby has to be the best source for online students, researchers or any other readers who need reference material. They have indexes by authors, titles or subject and access to both contemporary and classic works. Included are Harvard Classics, Gray's Anatomy with engravings, religious books, encyclopedias and other reference books. Also available are poetry, fiction and non-fiction (including William Shakespeare.) You can download for Microsoft E-book Reader, Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader for Windows or Mac, or AportisDoc Mobile Edition for handhelds for free on Amazon as long as it is for personal use.

Feedbooks

Feedbooks will let you download freebies directly to your device and is available in almost every format because they have a universal platform. This is an outstanding source for owners of handhelds and smartphones with e-book capability. Choose from favorites, featured, or take a chance on a random pick. Share your faves with others on the site. If you are a writer, this is a good place to upload your own work.

Free Kindle Books at Amazon

If you own a Kindle, the best place to start looking is obviously Amazon. Although there are charges for the top sellers, there are several thousand available at no cost. Select from classics such as "Treasure Island," new authors who want to be noticed and older ones who are feeling generous. Head for the Kindle section at the Amazon store, sort by "price: low to high", click the one you want and it be sent wirelessly to your Kindle. Next time you use it, the title will download and appear on your home screen.

Google / Sony

Own an eReader? Google has made over 500,000 free books available at Sony's eBook Store. These titles are public domain, and although they may not have been on the NYT Best Seller list lately, there are some incredible classics. To access the catalogue, you need to download the Library Software, register an account, start your search, connect your eReader and transfer from the directory.

BookYards

BookYards is aiming to be the largest library on the planet. It is here that you can find links, news and blog links, videos and of course access to online libraries 800,000 Ebooks. This is the place to go if you cannot find content at any of the above sites.

README

The Kindle will display Word, HTML, and PDF documents, but they must be converted first. To convert these files, just email them to a special kindle mailbox. Here are details on how to convert files to Kindle format.

There are other sites that claim to have free books, but often they come with strings attached, such as a requirement to buy software or signing up with a monthly service. With so many sites out there that rejoice in reading for reading's sake, don't fall for the scams.

Do you have a favorite site for free ebooks downloads? Post a comment below...