Monday, July 13, 2009

How to Find Free e-Books

I promised a few folks I would share free book resources discovered recently for the Kindle. While it’s easy to find e-books for sale, I’m seeking free books as much as possible to mitigate the expense of the Kindle 2.

After searching Amazon.com, the public library (Pima County, AZ) was the next source checked. I spoke with the librarian about the availability of e-books the library system. He said they do offer free book downloads but not in Kindle format—right now, but the format is coming. Click
here for an article about libraries loaning out Kindles—maybe there’s a library near you offering a chance to check out a Kindle for free.

Authors are discovering the marketing power inherent in e-books. Some offer free copies of their new book, especially if it’s the first in a series. The point is to hook you on their first book and hopefully you’ll buy the next and so on. But you have to be quick as these are usually limited time offers. For example, Paranoia by Joseph Finder is free until Sept. 18.


© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved. Kindle 2


Available for free is a plethora of classics, urban fantasy, science fiction, and romance novels. As for the latter, I just cannot read a book citing “throbbing members and pulsating orbs” with any degree of seriousness. However,
Harlequin is celebrating their 60th year by offering free PDF versions of a few romances until October, such as Price of Passion by Susan Napier.

Book offers are available in a number of different e-reader formats, such as the Mobipocket/Kindle, Sony Reader, Iliad, and PDF. You select which download version you prefer. For the Kindle 2, I either download via Amazon.com's magical Whispernet or directly to a “Kindle” folder created on my laptop. For the latter, I simply plug in my Kindle’s USB and copy the book over to my Kindle, easy.


Here are just a very few of the many free e-books available:


  • Beautiful Red by M. Darusha Wehm (science fiction)
  • Gone by Bryan W. Alaspa (horror)
  • My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent (young adult fantasy)
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (classic)
  • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (classic)
  • Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (classic)
More free books will emerge as time goes on, books enter the public domain, and electronic readers become more prevalent. Of course, e-sales will increase as well.

Resources

The following are some free e-book resources; some are easier to navigate than others:

  • Amazon.com's Kindle Store
  • Blog Kindle also tracks Kindle news and information about other e-book readers
  • Feedbooks
  • Free Kindle Books (classics)
  • Kindle Review
  • Manybooks.net
  • An extension of Manybooks, this link provides downloads directly to your Kindle (choose Mobipocket format)
  • MobileRead is a forum for eReaders
  • Munsey's for mobile browsing via Whispernet (choose Mobipocket format)
  • Project Gutenberg
  • World eBook Fair (free membership until August 4)

8 comments:

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

You gave some fantastic resources June, thta will be helpful to many! If I ever get a Kindle I'll be sure to come back to this post.

sassypriscilla said...

Wow, June. Thanks a lot. I love your tutorial for the case, too! My husband has a Kindle and loves it so I forwarded a link to this post for you. I hope to make a cover for his using your idea. I'd love to have one but one in the family is enough for now!

DIane Schuller said...

I had no idea there were actually free books available for Kindle. I know that our library has books that can be downloaded on MP3 format but I don't have one of those either :)
What a wealth of great information June. Enjoy your summer reading!
{PS: Love that tea cup and saucer}

Mom IsAmagpie said...

I've wanted a kindle since they first came out but have resisted the urge. This list is making me reevaluate that.

Heidi said...

Wow, great list, June! I was aware of the Gutenberg Project, but you dug deeper and found ever more.

Christine said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Christine said...

Links to lots of free, mostly modern, ebooks, various file formats, all legal -
Finding Free eBooks

Christine said...

Also, some hand formatted Mobipocket books (can be read on kindle) at the bottom of the page.