Did you know that there are tons of ways you can access a complete library of books and audiobooks, completely free? Check out this list of legal, free book sources. List will be frequently updated as sources are found. Feel free to reach out and share your own sources with me, and I will add them to this post! Note: All of these links have been tested, and should all work properly. If you stumble across any broken links, please let me know and I will make the appropriate edits. Cheers, and happy reading! – A.J

Libraries

Here, you can apply for library cards at various libraries, to access their various online catalogues.

New York Public Library
You can apply for a free library card at New York Public Library anytime, no matter where you live.

Broward County, FL Library
You can apply for a free library card here, to access digital collections.

Harris County, Texas Library
You can apply here for a free library card to access digital collections.

Chicago Public Library
You can apply for a free library card here to access the digital collection. You must randomly enter a Chicago address to gain access to this collection.

San Jose, CA Public Library
You can apply here for a free library card to access the digital collection. You must randomly enter a California based address to gain access to this collection.

Seattle Public Library
Teens and young adults ages 13 to 26 living anywhere in the U.S. can access the entire collection of e-books and audiobooks by applying for a Books Unbanned card.

Websites

Here are some websites where you can access complete, full text eBooks, for free.

Project Gutenberg
Everything from Project Gutenberg is gratis, libre, and completely without cost to readers.

Classic Bookshelf
Putting the classics online into eBook format.

Planet eBook
100% free eBooks, for all devices.

The Internet Book Database of Fiction
This forum features fantasy and graphic novels, anime, and more!

ByGosh
Free, illustrated children's classics.

Banned Books Online
Here you can follow links of banned books to their full text online.

Open Library
Read, borrow, and discover more than 3M different literary works.

LibriVox
Librivox offers free access to volunteer-narrated audiobooks, using books in the public domain.

The Banned Book Club
Utilizing GPS-based geo-targeting, DPLA has established virtual libraries in communities across the United States where books have been banned. When a reader is within a community served by a library that has been forced to ban a book, they can visit TheBannedBookClub.info to see the exact books have been banned in their area. Then, they can download that book for free on any handheld device via the free Palace e-reader app.

Amazon First Reads
For Prime Members, Amazon offers a selection of Kindle editor's picks for free monthly. You can pick yours by visiting the above link. I believe non-Prime members can also access this option, but for a low price instead of completely free.

2 responses to “Free & Legal Book Sources!”

  1. Pamela Hubert Avatar
    Pamela Hubert

    Thank you! I will definitely use this with my students.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. A.J Martinez Avatar

      Glad to hear it! Feel free to share with other teachers, too!

      Like

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