Books for free

There are more ways to get books for free than I thought.
Being an adicted reader I had to find ways to satisfy my needs.

AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT BOOK PIRATES AND ILLEGAL DOWNLOADS.
What I'm suggesting here is all legit and authorized by authors and/or publishers.

I think it's only fair to leave a review when I get a book for free.


1. Amazon

The easiest way to get free books is on Amazon. You don't even need to buy a kindle, just download the kindle app and start reading - all free.







Some books are for free only for a very short time - there's always something new to find.

Downloads and reviews will push these books in the ranking lists and eventually become suggestions:  "customers who bought this item also bought"

Of course the variety is overwhelming and it's only natural that you'll pick out sometimes something that isn't worth reading. So what? Just delete it and look for another title.

On amazon you don't have to give feedback but if you decide to write a review you can write down your opinion. If you are the first one to leave a review the author will be very happy to find it - but don't let the first be devastating. Save the crushing reviews for those books that've got hundreds of reviews and you just disagree with most of them.

2. Freebooks4reviews

This site is still new, startet by a friend from goodreads. Authors offer their books for free expecting a review in exchange. It works like a library. You can "lend" up to three titles. When you "return" a title (= write a review that's published on amazon or goodreads) you can "lend" another one.
As it is a new site there are only 34 titles available, but some of them are really good!


Unfortunately the members aren't very active - this site is in need of active readers!!

3. NetGalley

This site is only for ambitious reviewers. Publishers are promoting their upcoming titles (or new editions) by giving  ARCs to so-called "professional reviewers". Before approving your request they will check your profile.
For starters it's best to start with the "read now" section that doesn't request approvals.

4. Goodreads


Goodreads is a social media community for readers and authors. Authors promote their books, readers share their opinions, there is a variety of discussion groups - in some groups authors are offering their books in exchange for an honest review. You can win giveaways, or you simply find friends.

It may happen that an author contacts you after reading your review offering you a copy of his newest title.

5.Smashwords



Smashworld has a great variey and you can not only download books but even upload your iwn stories quite easily.

3 comments:

  1. Great list, Barbara! Don't forget Story Cartel (www.StoryCartel.com), which also allows downloading of free books on a read-to-review basis.

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  2. Hi Barbara. There are some cool free book newsletters that allow the user to specify the genre(s) they are interested in too. I like Freebooksy and Ereader News Today although there are others. No reviews required, just free book notifications delivered to your inbox! I also have an author friend who has set up a direct to mobile free/bargain book site you may find interesting. I will be notifying my Readers Group of this one in March too. http://www.soapboxcorner.com/ All the best, Will

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  3. Thank you, Will, for this very helpfull comment!

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