The cold and rainy weather is making us wish we could just curl up in bed and get lost in a good book. Who needs a weekend getaway when you can embark on endless journeys at the comfort of your home?
Although nothing can replace the sensation one gets from reading a physical book – feeling the soothing roughness of its pages on your fingers, smelling its addicting musty scent; there's no denying that e-books are more accessible especially now that smartphones and tablets are practically glued to our lives. Traditional books will always hold a special place in our bibliophile hearts, but e-books are here to stay and it's time we give it a try. Yes?
To get you started on your virtual reading, here's a round up of the 10 best websites where you can legally download free e-books, audiobooks and comic books.
Project Gutenberg was founded in 1971 by none other than the inventor of electronic book (e-book), Michael S. Hart. It is the oldest digital library and has over 45,000 free e-books to date.
Access: Open access; no registration required
Available formats: HTML, ePub, MOBI (Kindle), plain text
Open Library is an open, editable library catalog that offers over 1,000,000 free e-book titles. Most books available are classic literature titles.
Access: Open access; registration optional
Available formats: PDF, plain text, DAISY, ePub, MOBI (Kindle)
Feedbooks is a Paris-based digital library that offers thousands of free e-book titles in various languages. Unlike most free e-book sites, most of Feedbooks' titles have cover arts to make your e-book reader more appealing.
Access: Open access: registration optional
Available formats: ePub, MOBI (Kindle), PDF
Although Google's free e-Books section isn't as extensive as its counterparts, the good thing about it is that you can check users ratings and reviews for almost all of the available titles.
Access: Google account required
Available formats: ePub, PDF
DailyLit is perfect for millenials who are always on-the-go. It lets you read literary classics in short installments by delivering short portions daily via email. Aside from classic novels, you can also access DailyLit's collection of its own serialized fiction.
Access: Registration required
Available formats: plain text
If you're into comic books, then Comic Book Plus is the perfect free e-book site for you. Comic Book Plus is dedicated to the free and legal access to hundreds of Golden and Silver Age comic books.
Access: Open access for web viewing; registration required for comic book downloads
Available format: cbz file
Are you more of an auditory learner? LibriVox offers free access to thousands of audiobooks ranging from children's fiction to self-help books.
Access: Open access; no registration required
Available format: mp3
Open Cultures is a blog that curates cultural and educational materials available on the web. Among its curated lists are over 500 audiobooks, 600 free e-books, and 170 textbooks.
Access: Open access; no registration required
Available formats: HTML, ePub, MOBI (Kindle), plain text
Books Should Be Free offers thousands of free public domain e-books and audiobooks. Books from over 30 languages can also be accessed here.
Access: Open access: no registration required
Available formats: audiobook – mp3, mb4, e-book – ePub, PDB, MOBI (Kindle), plain text
Aside from the classics, this site is ideal for discovering indie authors ranging from non-fiction to romance and mystery.
Access: Free account – limited access, VIP account (with membership fee) – full library access
Available formats: PDF, ePub, MOBI (Kindle), plain text
