Bookish Resources or How To Get Free Books Legally

 

Hey, everyone! So, I’ve written a while ago a somewhat controversial post on book piracy where I tried to talk about how we should do more about making books available and accessible to other countries besides the english-speaking ones and basically being more sensitive to this issue because it’s a complex one.

Ever since I wrote that post, I had some mixed feelings – at first, I thought it was because I regretted writing the post, but I don’t think I do, really. Many people came forward with their stories, it started quite a discussion and many US bloggers found out new things about how hard it is for international readers to get books.

So, I realized that the reason why I felt conflicted was because besides starting that discussion, I hadn’t offered many alternatives to book piracy. Therefore, I’m here to change that and present you with some ways to get free books legally or to buy them at more accessible prices.

#1: Riveted

This site is created by Simon Teen and they always have so many young adult resources. They either have full books or extended excerpts. The only downside is that those aren’t available all the time, they switch the books, so every book is available for a certain period of time. For example, right now you can read Since You’ve Been Gone, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Love and Gelato, When Dimple Met Rishi, Alex Approximately and more books for free (also, all the mentioned are in full format, so what are you doing here??? go read those amazing books).

#2: BookBub

This is a great site for finding deals on Kindle books, they even send you emails if you subscribe to their newsletter. They present you a wide variety from free ebooks to ebooks with prices that vary between 0.99 to $2, I totally recommend them because they make it very easy for you to find some deals on those books you’ve been waiting for ages to read.

#3 : Netgalley and Edelweiss

Both of these are for Advance Reader’s Copy (ARCs) and bloggers usually have more success in getting those than regular readers, but they still have some open to read titles that you can find that are open to anybody. You can download them at any point and read.

#4 : Barnes & Noble and Amazon

Both of these list free ebooks that you can download, the only downside for Amazon is that you need a Kindle, but I was able to connect my Amazon account on my phone too via the application on Google Store, so voila! These are quite amazing because sometimes there are deals (check Amazon’s today deals frequently) where you can get free ebooks that are very popular. They Both Die at The End, The Hate U Give have had deals on Amazon recently, so keep an eye on that!

#5 : Classic Reader and Project Gutenberg

Both of these are mostly focused on classics, they don’t have Young Adult Literature, but if you ever need to read a classic for class and you don’t want to buy it/you don’t have a library to borrow it from, try those resources!

There are also many more sites similar to this one : Open Library being one of the most popular. I haven’t tried this one myself, but I’ve heard it’s quite good.

#6 : Tor

They list free ebooks frequently and I am quite in love with their books, so check it out, I’m sure you’ll find something to read!

#7 : Writers and Publishers’ Newsletters

Try to sign up for the newsletters of some of your favourite authors or publishers because they always list ebook deals, I’ve even had once someone from Simon & Schuster sending me a free ebook after I signed up for theirs. There are also giveaways and opportunities – though many of them are US only, but sometimes they are international too!

#8 : Sign up for Street Teams

Some authors do street teams, where a bunch of readers come together to discuss and create buzz for an upcoming release. There are usually links to sign up on Twitter or Facebook, sometimes even on Tumblr, but most of them are on Twitter. These are great opportunities to receive e-ARCs, even physical ARCs and swags. YAAY, these are amazing!!!

#9 : Ask publishers for e-ARCs

Okay, so hear me out on this one because I know you’re freaking out right now because I mentioned publishers and the tension suddenly grew ten times. If you’re an international book blogger, chances are some publishers won’t send you physical ARCs, but some of them will send e-ARCs instead. I’ve had three e-ARCs accepted on Netgalley directly by the publisher after I requested a physical one and they told me they can’t send it, instead giving me the digital copy. Some publishers also have forms where you can request e-ARCs or physical ones : HMH Teen and Penguin. Of course, if you send a request for a digital copy, you’re expected to read it and review it just like you’d read a physical copy.

#10 : Giveaways and Blog Tours

Goodreads barely has any international giveaways left, so I won’t recommend this one. Instead, I’ll recommend twitter – my personal favourite way of tracking giveaways is to search for #bookgiveaway, it’s easy to do and it helps you find so many giveaways. Also, Twitter is getting very good at including international people in giveaways, so it won’t be a problem to find them.

Blog tours – this one is again directed to book bloggers, if you take part in blog tours, there are high chances you’ll receive copies of the book. My favourite is The Fantastic Flying Book Club because their book choices are usually right up my alley. Entangled Teen also sends you opportunities for blog tours if you sign up to their newsletter.

Do you know other sites/resources from where people can get free books legally? Leave your suggestions in the comments, but please no piracy sites!