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We’ve all been there: you’re super into a book and you really, really want to read the sequel. And then you check your bank account. Or maybe you want to try out a book you’re not sure you’ll like and don’t want to spend the money on it if you’ll hate it. That’s happened to me a million times!
If you want to learn how to read books for free, keep reading!
Times are tough, but we always need stories.
Storytelling is important. It’s been a part of our the very fabric of humanity for centuries upon centuries. It’s the foundation of so many parts of our lives, from work with how we portray our resumes, word emails, and our company’s advertising, to our relationships and, especially, our entertainment—social media, tv, podcasts, music, and so many other things.
We especially need storytelling when things are tough. Stories comfort us. Not only do they offer a window to escape from the weight of everyday life for a while, but they give us a chance to process our traumas from a separate point of view. We can read books about characters going through similar situations. As we process what’s going on with the character, we move in parallel with processing our own journey, and can even get a possible roadmap for continuing our journey.
So, it feels extra cruel when you’re going through a rough financial time and can’t get a break to spend time with a book or audiobook. With skyrocketing prices and debt, things are stressful. (I know! That’s a gross understatement. I just want this post to be helpful, not a doom post.)
As I’ve said before, I don’t think books should only be available to those with extra money in their budget. Everyone deserves the ability to read, no matter their age or how much money they have. That’s why I’m making this guide for how to read books for free and get books for super affordable prices.
Free sites to read free books
The Internet Archive offers the ability to check out books. The catalog is vast, and it offers an in-browser reader. The checkout process is a little bit different than a library. Depending on the availability of the book, you can check out books from one hour of time, then larger intervals going forward. This can be especially helpful if you only need a book for research and want to look something specific up in it and cite it. After your interval of time is up, you can re-check out books.
I’ve personally used this site for genealogy and genealogy related historical research. It can feel a bit clunky/awkward to navigate at first, but once you get used to it, you realize what a great resource the Internet Archive can be!
Project Gutenberg is another well known site where you can read books online for free. Project Gutenberg offers public domain books for everyone. As someone whose education heavily focused on American Romanticism, I am no stranger to this website.
Reading is free at the library
Libraries have always been awesome. Despite facing pressure to censor books and having funds withdrawn consistently, libraries remain a safe haven of information for everyone. Because of this, it’s the first place you should go if you want to read free books.
You don’t even always need to leave the house to join and check out books from the library. You can check out free ebooks, free audiobooks, free magazines, and lots of other digital resources straight from your phone.
How to join a library
You don’t necessarily have to leave the house to join the library. All you need is a smartphone, tablet, or computer.
To get started, download the Libby app. Libby is a product of Overdrive, a service many libraries use to manage their digital catalog and its checkout process. Libby is celebrated because it’s pretty simple to use and you can read and listen to audiobooks in app, making it unnecessary to link your Kindle or Amazon account to it.
The app will prompt you to either enter in your library info or join a library. Lots of libraries, especially in cities, will offer a way to join and use their digital catalog online.
If you’re like me and live in rural area that doesn’t have a library in your county, you may have to pay a very small fee to use the closest city’s or county’s library. If that’s the case, look for a library for your state that offers free cards for those in the state.
For example, I live in Texas. The grocery store HEB teamed up with the Houston Public Library to make digital library cards free for all Texans. I have personally taken advantage of this offer, and chances are you’ll be able to find a library that’s free to join in your state, if not your area. A quick google search will help you find out how.
While researching for this post, I also learned (and went through the process to doublecheck) that you can get a temporary library card that is valid for 14 days for free through the New York Public Library. This is also fantastic if you’re doing research and need a digital book without having to wait for an interlibrary loan of the physical copy if your library doesn’t have access.
A World Adventure by Book has a list of libraries you that have non-resident borrowing privileges, with both instructions on how to find information on joining for free and how to join libraries via paying for access. This list was updated last in March of 2020, but is still a good place to start.
This is where I have to say that libraries also fall into kinda free territory. For example, I have to pay a fee of $10.00 to join the closest public library to me because I don’t live in that county. You can purchase a pass to a lot of libraries that aren’t close to you, as shown in the link above. It just depends on how much you want to pay to have access to multiple books.
How to read books for kind of free
As I said above, some libraries can fall into kinda-free territory. But what do I mean by kinda free? What I mean by a kind of free book is that you pay for access to a database of books that you’re not charged extra to access. For access to physical books, there can be extra money involved depending on when you return a book. But for digital or ebooks, however, the return process is automated. Therefore, there are no late fees. Between that and the ease of using digital books, this is what I recommend.
I’ve already covered libraries, so I’ll start with other alternatives.
Kindle Unlimited is a program offered by Amazon. You don’t have to have a Kindle to join (although I do LOVE my Kindle Oasis.) With Kindle Unlimited (which is currently offering a two month free trial), you pay $9.99 a month to read any book in the program. I recently wrote a blog post recommending paranormal non-fiction and most of the books I mention on that list is in the Kindle Unlimited program. I have used this before and can definitely recommend this program if you have the extra $9.99 a month in your budget for books. If you sign up through my link, it can help support my blog!
Audible Plus is another way to get access to a catalog of books via Amazon, but with a focus on audio. Audible Plus is the first tier of Audible’s memberships. It includes access to their catalog of audiobooks, meditations, podcasts, and more. There’s a free one month trial and membership starts at $7.95 a month after that. If you’d like to get the tier that gives you a credit, on top of the options with Audible Plus, to use on an audiobook you get to keep regardless of membership status, it’s $14.95 a month.
Audible is a big part of how I got through my undergrad and my graduate degree as an English major with ADHD. Listening to an audiobook counts as reading in my opinion, and in the opinions of my professors. Audiobooks are great if you have ADHD, vision problems, or even just a busy schedule. Just like with Kindle Unlimited, if you sign up for a free trial or purchase through my link, it can help support my blog!
These are all the suggestions I have personally used and can recommend! I wouldn’t suggest something I wouldn’t use myself because your trust is more important to me than money or views.
Happy reading,
Kara
How do you read books for free/kind of free? Tell me in the comments!