While
the global pandemic has hit many businesses, publishing - especially, ebooks -
has seen a marked rise in sales. Even as hardcover and paperback sales picked
up, the lockdown also saw audiobooks and ebooks make significant gains every
single month.
And bookworms
sure aren’t complaining. Also, which true-blue book lover would not want a free
book or two, or even 20 for that matter? We take a look at some of the top
ebook sites you can visit that would not make any dent in your budget.
Kindle
Owners' Lending Library
You’ll need
to be an Amazon Prime member to enter this magic land of hundreds of thousands
of free Kindle books. Operating on the lines of a library, it only lets you
borrow the book, not keep it. But there’s good news—there is no expiration on
borrowed books.
BookGoodies
Updated
weekly, it’s a haven for fiction and non-fiction lovers. Each page of a
particular book, be it paranormal, humour, or travel, gives a full description
along with information such as for how long is the book available for a free
download. Sometimes a link to the author’s website is also provided.
Project
Gutenberg
With more
than 57,000 free ebooks and no fee, it’s a book lover’s paradise. While the
latest bestsellers may not feature here, there are more than enough classics to
keep you company. The best part is that it supports almost all forms—ePu, HTML,
Kindle and other simple text formats. And, did we say, we love that name?
Overdrive
This is
undoubtedly the fastest way to access millions of ebooks. It has tied up with
30,000 public libraries in over 40 different countries. They also have a
healthy collection of free audiobooks. Our grouse with this site? One needs a
valid and active public library card or has to be a student to access the
treasures.
Library
Genesis
If you want
ebooks, articles, magazines, and more, then this should be your stop. It
indexes close to three million ebooks and 60 million articles. So you can
actually spend a lifetime here and still you will probably not be done half with
it. Word of advice: Know what you want before you venture into this ocean.
Open Library
It is an
open-source project where the library catalogue is editable. It can thus help
create a web page for any book published. With over one million free ebooks, the
platform tries to keep up to its motto of ‘one web page for every book ever
published’. To say that it is Alice’s Wonderland, would be an understatement.
Google
eBookstore
If you have
an Android device, you are in luck. On the Google eBookstore, all you need to
do is go to the ‘Books’ section and select the ‘Free’ option. The huge
collection features hundreds of classics, contemporary bestsellers and more.
They are accompanied with reader reviews and ratings.
ManyBooks
Established
in 2004, the books here are mostly classic literature. Self-publishing authors
also find a place. In case you don’t want to download a book, just read it
online. Books are available in PDF, ePUB, Mobi and similar other formats. They
also have an article section with book reviews.
BookBoon
Searching for
a particular educational textbook or business book? Look no further. Easy to
navigate, the site claims to have over 75 million downloads every year. With
low-cost education as their calling card, they work with industry experts to create
high-quality reading material.
Source: Indian Express, 25/10/20
