You may have noticed that I like to read.  I do.  I like to get lost in a story or be able to laugh out loud from an essay.  

It is hard to afford to buy all the books I might want to read.  Yes, my town has a great library but I have gotten used to my eReaders.  While there are books that I want to own and books that I need to own to be able to get the most out of them, there are lots of books that I just want to sprint through and move on.  Those are the perfect eBooks to me.  So, I have been looking for sites for free eBooks.  

Also, because I read fast, I have found the eReader is the perfect thing for me to take  on vacation.  I can take 10 – 20 books with me and it is practically weightless. 

I really never think that I am ahead of the curve on such things but in case you are behind me, let me share my sources for free eBooks.  If you have others that you can share, please do!  You can put them in the comments or add to the facebook page  or tweet them to me (@carolearlycoone) and I will share them.  

Also, let me note the I use two e Readers.  I own a Nook from Barnes and Noble.  I have the basic Nook that came out several years ago.  I decided on the Nook because Barnes and Noble will allow you to have 5 devices on your account.  So, my husband and daughter and I can share books.  They also have a lending policy which allows you to share with another Nook user but I have never done that.  I find downloading books to the Nook to be simple.  I did have a Sony eReader first and I can switch the books that I purchased for the Sony to the Nook. 

I have also downloaded the Kindle app on my iPad.  Kindle has its own platform which is different from other eReaders.  This was more of a problem when it first came out but now is not much of an issue as they have made the software more available.  

The first place to look if you want current best sellers or current books is your local library.  My library has a membership in www.mymediamall.net. I have rarely been able to get the books right away but if you are not in a hurry, you will be notified when the book is available for you to download.  From the time they send the email, you have 3 days to download the book.  You then have 7 or 14 days to read the book on your device.  It is pretty easy.  They also have lots of audio books.  To be perfectly honest, I have not been successful in downloading the audio books.  (The problem is probably sitting 18 inches in front of my screen).  

The Gutenberg Project is also a source for free books.  The books available are books for which the copyright has expired.  It is a great place to find the classics. Books are added as their copyrights expire.  These books can be downloaded free.  I did have  a funny experience with one of these books.  The books are obviously screen shots of books.  I downloaded a copy of A Christmas Carol.  A child had colored in the original book.  It didn’t affect the reading of the book and I thought it was cute.  You can look over the offerings at www.gutenberg.org.

A app was recently recommended in The Writer magazine.  The name of the app is Spreadsong and it can be downloaded both for Apple and Google based products.  There is a wide variety of older books available and the site is perhaps more user friendly than the  Gutenberg Project.  Also, for a fee of $3.99 you download the audio version of the books.  (Great for summer drives!)  

The World Literary Cafe (www.worldliterarycafe) is an online group for readers and writers.  There is a section on the web site for free eBooks.  The offerings change frequently so you can check back daily.  These are likely to be new authors looking for a following.  It is a great chance to find a new voice and support them.  

Goodreads (www.goodreads.com)  is an online book review network.  You can sign up and see what others are reading and see reviews for books.  There is also a connection for free eBooks through that site.  You can just type “free eBooks” in the search box at the top of the page.

I have been saving one of my favorites for last. My favorite spot is Amazon.  Yes, while I hate to say it, the mega giant is the best source for current free eBooks.    If you go to Amazon (www.amazon.com) and put “free Kindle books” in the search box, a list of free downloadable books will come up.  These are really new authors looking for an audience.  The books are in a wide range of genres.They also offer kindle books for $.99 and $2.99.  A pittance  to pay for someone’s hard work.  

So there you have it.  As I said earlier, if you have other sites, please let me know and I will add them to the list.  

Go get a great deal!