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free_ebooks

Free eBooks

There are many places you can find eBooks on the Internet.
Here are a few, and this page is aimed for Kindle (application or device).
Note that some books are free to read on Amazon, but only if you have Kindle Unlimited (beware).
.

Some of these from https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-best-6-sites-to-get-free-ebooks/

ServiceURLNotesTypes
BookBubhttp://bookbub.comYou choose book categories you like (e.g., Mystery, Romance) and give them your email address, you get daily emails with suggestions of books. Some are pay and some are free.
Note that the “free” may be today only (it's a limited time deal).
Sample email
Kindle, Nook, iBook, more
Lexington Library
(Overdrive)
http://www.carylibrary.orgBooks are free to read but you have limited time (3 weeks) to read them. (Can you get more time?)
How to use
1. Search for the book
2. Choose “Ebook” format
3. Check out with OverDrive or Place Hold with OverDrive
sample search results
Checkout and Install on Kindle
Return the book
Kindle, maybe more
IfItBreakshttp://www.ifitbreaks.com/free.htmFree Science Fiction books for KindleKindle
Project Gutenberghttp://www.gutenberg.orgBooks in the public domain (i.e., published in 1923 (starting in 2019) or earlier)epub, Kindle, pdf, plain text
Open Culturehttp://www.openculture.com/free_ebooks800 ebooks, plus audio books, movies, online courses, more.Kindle
Fussy Librarianhttp://www.thefussylibrarian.comGet email telling about free ebooks by genre and frequency you choose.
sample email
varies: Kindle, Nook, iBook, Kobo
Free-eBookshttps://www.free-ebooks.netYou get 5 eBooks in PDF format per month for free. Cost is $8/month or $25/lifetime for no limits and Kindle etc formats.
IMHO not worth it – unless you're ok with 5 books/month and pdf format.
Library Genesishttp://libgen.io/search engine, search for a particular bookPDF, EPUB, MOBI, DOC, etc
Centsless Bookshttps://centslessbooks.com/Finds books on Amazon for Kindle; some are in Kindle Unlimited
there is a MWF newsletter
ManyBookshttp://manybooks.net/offshoot of Proj GutenbergEPUB, MOBI, PDF and Flesh-Kincaid score (reading ease)
Feedbookshttp://www.feedbooks.com/fiction & nonfiction, free and paidEPUB, MOBI, PDF; word counts & reading time estimates
PDFBooksWorldhttp://www.pdfbooksworld.com/Mostly classicsPDF only
EbookBikehttp://ebook.bikelarge collection of booksePub only
GetFreeBookshttps://www.getfreeebooks.com/80-legal-sites-to-download-free-ebooks/Has links to dozens of sites with free books

Different Ebook Formats Explained
The 7 Best Ebook Readers for Android

Buying these free books on Amazon

Make sure that the book/listing says “Kindle Price: 0.00”.
Select your Kindle device under “Deliver to”
Then click “Buy now with 1-Click”.
screen shot

Getting a Kindle Paperwhite

I'm not selling…it's just that I have a Paperwhite and I'm very pleased with it.

Today (3/15/2020) I see Amazon selling Kindle Paperwhite for $89.99 and up. The newer model is waterproof, reads audio books, and has more storage than the previous model.

It's best to search Amazon for “kindle paperwhite” to see what options are available. The prices start at around $90.

Note
I have the previous 4GB model. It's holding around 300 books waiting for me to read, and despite this still has 2GB space available for more books. IMHO it's not at all bad to get Kindle Paperwhite with “special offers”. The offers appear as a screen-saver type screen and sometimes they are decent offers. An offer only appears when you first wake the device up, and you can get past the offer by swiping across the screen to get to your book(s).

Comment
I use the Omotion Kindle Paperwhite Case Cover to protect my Paperwhite. Cost is $6.99 today (3/15/2020) and it's very thin and protective, I've had it since 12/2016 and it's working fine. Comes in a variety of colors, I have Black. (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EYW9DSU)

Formats

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_formats for details and a more complete table.

FormatDevice(s)
Kindle (.azw, .azw3)Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle readers; Kindle app on PC, Macintosh, Android, etc
ePubKobo, iBooks on Macintosh and iOS devices, Nook, and more. Must be converted for use on Kindle; see https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-read-epub-files-on-your-kindle/ to learn how.

Using Calibre to convert format

  • Copy the .epub (or whatever format) book to the Calibre main screen
  • Select the book in the list, and click Convert Books
  • Choose output format. For Kindle paperwhite or Kindle on iPad, use mobi as output format (see below for other alternatives)
  • When the conversion is complete, the book will be stored in your user directory/Calibre Library/Authorname directory.
    If you're user=george and the book is by Margaret Mitchell, you'll see the book in george/Calibre Library/Margaret Mitchell
  • You can then email this converted file to your paperwhite's or iPad's email address.
  • You will get an email from Amazon asking you to verify that you want to download the book(s).
  • Go to your device and enjoy your book!

Note that azw3 format won't work going to a Kindle Paperwhite. According to the rejection email, only these can be delivered:

  • Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx)
  • Rich Text Format (.rtf)
  • HTML (.htm, .html)
  • Text (.txt) documents
  • Archived documents (zip , x-zip) and compressed archived documents
  • Mobi book

Images that are of type JPEGs (.jpg), GIFs (.gif), Bitmaps (.bmp), and PNG images (.png).

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free_ebooks.txt · Last modified: 2021.12.22 13:51 by 127.0.0.1