4 Ethical Ways to Get Free Books
If you want something new to read but you’re strapped for cash, here are four ethical ways to get free books.
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Other Online Bookstores
There are free ebooks at just about all the online bookstores. Amazon has a huge selection of free ebooks. So does iBooks, kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Smashwords. All you have to do is look for them. Don’t have an e-reader? No problem. You can download a free Kindle app to read Kindle books on any device, including a PC/Mac. To read ebooks from elsewhere, download Adobe Digital Editions.
The Library
In addition to print books, most libraries now lend ebooks. All my books are available to libraries. That doesn’t mean your library has them, though, but if you request my books, your library might order them. The same goes for any other book you might want to read. If the library doesn’t have it, ask them if they’ll order it.
Goodreads and Library Thing Giveaways
Entering a giveaway doesn’t mean you’ll get a book, but if you don’t try, you definitely won’t. At this time, I believe that only print books can be offered for a Goodreads giveaway. Not so at Library Thing, where both print and ebooks can be given away. I’ve noticed that often a hundred or more ebook copies are offered, and sometimes there are fewer than a hundred requests, meaning there’s a good chance of getting an ebook at Library Thing. Now, authors and publishers usually do giveaways at these sites because they’re hoping for reviews in return. You’re not obligated to write a review, but when you enjoy a book you received for free, consider leaving a review.
The Public Domain
There are thousands of books in the public domain, and not all of them are from the 1800s and earlier. Due to some pretty weird copyright laws in the US, many books copyrighted in the US before 1964 have fallen out of copyright. You can find these books at places like archive.org.
While we’re on the subject of the public domain, being on the Internet doesn’t mean that a book is in the public domain. The same goes for stories and articles posted to blogs and websites. Everything on the Internet is under copyright, unless it has fallen out of copyright or the copyright owner has actively put it into the public domain. Never copy, share, or distribute books, stories, articles, photos, or anything else, unless you have the copyright owner’s permission to do so.
Bonus Method
You can also get free ebooks when authors, publishers, and book bloggers hold contests and giveaways on their sites, and sometimes the chances of winning can be good, depending on the number of entries.
And there you have it. Five ethical ways to get free books. If the book you want isn’t available for free, try requesting it at your library, or try a new author. Free books are a great way to try a new author or genre.
4 Ethical Ways to Get Free Books is a post from: Sarah Ettritch
