Saturday Sips: 5 Places to find free ebooks!

Who doesn’t like free, especially when it comes to ebooks?

If you are trying to keep a handle on your finances, or just indulge in your reading habit without breaking the bank, you’ll want to check out these 5 places to find free ebooks.

Story Cartel

Jeff Goins and Joe Bunting—talented writers and nice guys—began Story Cartel as a means of connecting authors and readers, because stories are meant to be shared. Books are offered free for a limited time only in exchange for your honest review on Amazon, Goodreads, or even your blog. Plus, they regularly give away print copies. Yippee-more free stuff!

Ebook Search App

This app self-describes as Your mobile gateway to the world’s free books. I have the app on my iPad and really like it. I downloaded a copy of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Benjamin Bunny as a test and proceeded to enjoy the lush, full color, original drawings in a format that closely mimicked the original.

This version was a Read Aloud, too. I tapped on the microphone and asked them to turn the pages for me.  What a treat! That being said, searcher beware. The collection of free books is immense and covers ground from G-Rated on up.

eReaderGirl

I love the tagline: Rescuing Your Wallet from Overpriced Books. This site was founded by the wonderful Crystal Paine of Money Saving Mom.  They offer clean, quality ebooks at a great bargain. Browse the free and low-cost titles, and sign up for notifications of free ebooks, too!

Jungle-Search.com

Have you ever searched for free ebooks on Amazon? To say it is a frustrating endeavor is putting it mildly. Understandably, they would like you to buy their goods rather than treat them as another library.

Jungle Search—built to scour Amazon—allows you to choose your criteria on their search page. When you hit Click for Savings!, a new Amazon window will open with your results. As I noted with the Ebook app above, know that the book selection might be mixed.

Of course, those of you with Amazon Prime Membership automatically have access to freebies and loaners. You do know that, right?

Your local library

I know this may seem like a no-brainer, but when was the last time you visited? If your children are older, years may have passed since you ran your fingers along those smooth and well-read spines in the tall and quiet stacks.

The exciting news is that you can borrow through the extensive library network via the web, even if you live in a teeny tiny town.  Recently I borrowed an audio book my writer’s group was going to be discussing. I never even had to leave the house to search, check it out, or return it!

Go to your local library today and ask how you can sign up for internet inter-library loan access!

If you have family or friends who are blind or physically handicapped, be sure they get the Bard Mobile App. In order to use it, the individual must be registered with a braille and talking-book library in the National Library Service network of cooperating libraries.

Via their website:

The BARD Mobile app provides free access to braille and talking books directly from the NLS Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD). BARD contains nearly 50,000 books, magazines, and music scores in audio and braille formats, with new selections added daily.

You can also always score freebies of the old-fashioned hard copies of books, too, at yard sales, thrift stores, and book sales. It generally depends on the circumstances and the time of day. My NH library even had a freebie section of books that had been culled from the collection.

Question: What is your favorite resource for finding free or nearly free ebooks? Please share in the comments!

Did you enjoy this article?

Sign up for updates and get my FREE ebook: Practicing Gratitude and Discovering Joy Just imagine. . .Responding with gratitude rather than grumbling, and enjoying more happiness and contentment. And rest assured I won't share your address!