Athena Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 I couldn't quickly find a topic on this (other than the Kindle specific topic), so I thought I'd make one. The idea is listing sites where one can download free legal ebooks (or that show links to them). Such as: Project Gutenberg Amazon.com Free Kindle Books (US + certain other countries) Amazon.co.uk Free Kindle Books (must be UK resident I believe?) KoboBooks Free Bol.com free ebooks Kindle Buffet Open Culture free ebooks (also Open Culture Free Textbooks and Open Culture Free Audiobooks) Mobile Reads Free Ebooks Smashwords Free Ebooks Wikipedia Books Free Ebooks.net Book Boon General Ebooks Ebook 3000 Book Rix Ebook Lobby Ebook Mall SFF PDF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissy Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 I signed up with bookbub. I made note of my genre preferences and I get a daily e mail showing me free and short term discounted kindle books for that day. (not that I need to add anymore books to my bulging kindle collection!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Please be careful with these sites. For example, one has the following.. Please note that General eBooks is just the search engine for eBooks hosted in public domain and book shops, we don’t host any files and we are not responsible for downloaded file content. This means that although they are in fact 'legal', they may well be providing links to 'illegal' sites. I know from twitter that authors are often finding their books listed, when they have most definitely not given permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 I signed up with bookbub. I made note of my genre preferences and I get a daily e mail showing me free and short term discounted kindle books for that day. (not that I need to add anymore books to my bulging kindle collection!) I'll take a look, thanks . Please be careful with these sites. For example, one has the following.. This means that although they are in fact 'legal', they may well be providing links to 'illegal' sites. I know from twitter that authors are often finding their books listed, when they have most definitely not given permission. That's good to keep in mind, Michelle. Personally I'd hate to do anything illegal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Thanks for this, Athena. I knew about some of these sites, but it's always good to find a few more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted September 30, 2014 Author Share Posted September 30, 2014 Thanks for this, Athena. I knew about some of these sites, but it's always good to find a few more! You're welcome, Ian ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Faversham Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Please be careful with these sites. For example, one has the following.. This means that although they are in fact 'legal', they may well be providing links to 'illegal' sites. I know from twitter that authors are often finding their books listed, when they have most definitely not given permission. I have found my own books on illegal sites but that is not the worst that can happen. Apparently the sites sometimes carry viruses and unsuspecting readers can download a virus with their free books or find their pc is being used as a (forgotten the correct IT word) donkey to send out spam unknown to the owner. So Michelle is great to warn us all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anemone Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 Does anyone have some advice for books in French that are free? My mum being French, she finds it very hard to read in English, but we always find that all the free books are in English except some French classics. The thing is, she would also like to read some more recent books (last 15-20 years). Does anyone have some advice on that? I know it is very specific, and I tried on French forums but to no avail. Thanks for your advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chesilbeach Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 I doubt you'll find free books from the last 20 years as they will still be within copyright. You could try a library, but other than that I think you'll have to be prepared to pay for them, which is only fair as the author and translator need to be paid for their work. You can search the Amazon Kindle store for ebooks in foreign languages and narrow it down to French, and then by genre, so you should be able to find something there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anemone Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Of course you are right chesilbeach... I didn't really think it through haha. This is a silly question, but how long do books stay within copyright from the moment they are published? And if anyone knows a website for a bit older French books, fire away. I only know the amazon kindle store, but I am guessing there must be French equivalents to project Gutenberg and all the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 Simon & Shuster - free e-book for US residents, if you sign up to their mailing list.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
everymoment Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 (edited) Hello! I often download free books. In general, PDF but there are other formats. Edited December 5, 2017 by chesilbeach Links removed. New members are not permitted to post links to external websites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted December 5, 2017 Share Posted December 5, 2017 Here in the UK books stay in copyright for 70 years after the authors death. I am not sure about the US - I think it depends on when the book was published. Much as we all like to get things for free, we need to remember that copyright is there for a reason - to protect the rights of the creator who has a right to be compensated for their work. When people ask me for free books (unless of course they are a reviewer) I ask them if they would be prepared to work for free, and if not, why are they expecting me to? Most of them soon change their tune when I put it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madeleine Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 Good point Talisman, and so right, these authors have to make a living after all, and most of them aren't in the Rowling/Dan Brown/James Patterson league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 Definitely not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.