How to save money on buying books – or get them for free
Many websites offer ebooks and audiobooks at no cost. Project Gutenberg lists more than 67,000 out-of-copyright titles which can be read online or downloaded in a wide range of formats. Similarly, Librivox offers more than 16,000 audiobooks of old titles, read and recorded by volunteers all over the world.
BookBub (bookbub.com) has free and discounted downloads of some recently published books, particularly in categories like romance and thrillers, with regular email alerts about cheap titles in genres you’re interested in.
Ebooks, audiobooks and comics can be borrowed for up to 14 days from the Internet Archive’s vast collection – you need to join OpenLibrary.org for free, and download an encrypted file. Many of the titles available are recently published books from 1,100 libraries all over the world.
If only one copy of the book you want is available, it can only be borrowed for an hour and must be read on a web book reader interface. It is auto-renewed for another hour if you are still reading it.
Your local library may also lend copies of ebooks, comics and audiobooks via your library card and an app, such as OverDrive, Libby or BorrowBox. You can then read your choice on a smartphone, tablet or a compatible e-reader like a Kobo, Nook, PocketBook or Tolino – Kindles are not supported.
The books will disappear from your “shelf” in the app on the day they are due back, so you don’t have to worry about late fees.
Websites such as Netgalley.com and edelweiss.plus offer “readers of influence”, such as book reviewers and bloggers, free access to review ebooks and audiobooks before they are published. These are sometimes referred to in the industry as “advanced reading copies” or ARCs. It’s up to the publisher to approve your
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