I guess, it is pretty clear from the title what this blog is about. If you are a beginner and want to start your reading journey, please read this post till the end. I know that you must be hesitating to invest your money in buying paperbacks before finding out if reading really interests you or not? This happens with most of the people and they just skip the thought of reading.
You can find so many sources online, but I am listing only those that I have tried. There are many other e-libraries and sites which claim to provide free eBooks but those are tricky ones. There is so much drama of downloading fake and incomplete files. I have curated a list of some legal and trustworthy ways to read books at affordable prices.
Disclaimer:
This post isn’t sponsored. If any of the below mentioned platforms change their ways of working and distribution policies, I am not responsible for it. I have mentioned the ways I have tried and the changes may occur in the future. For now, all of these ways are totally legal. These platforms may or may not have the books you are looking for.
Kindle App ( Not Device)
If you are someone who can read books in eBook format, free trials of reading apps can be a great option for you. One of such apps that I know is Kindle. On this app, you can find some short books for free. Also, there are some publishers who offer free eBooks for some limited time. I have personally got such free books and saved have them in my kindle library.
It also offers you a free trial of “Kindle Unlimited” for a month where you can read some amazing and famous books for free. If you find this source suitable, you may continue using the same plan but with their monthly charges.
Scribd
I wish I would have found this app early in my reading journey. There are so many books on it and I am sure you will find the books as per your interest. This too has a month free trial feature like Kindle and that's a great way to discover your reading interest. If you want to continue, you have a option to do so with their fixed monthly charges.
To get 60 days free trial, sign up by clicking here .
Gutenberg
Gutenberg is an e-library, where you can find over 60K books for free. They charge no money for any action. There is a no compulsion on downloading any book because you can read it online too. How amazing is that?
I never thought that I will get to read classics for free on any platform but Gutenberg have classics too.
You will find books classified according to genre and authors. Click here to find their classified bookshelf.
Participate in book exchange
Lots of people participate in these chains where you can swap the books you own. It is usually practiced among book clubs, close groups of friends, college clubs and people who work together. This way, you can read many books in exchange for one book that you own. If you love to read paperbacks, this is a great way to read books for free.
Yes, you read it right! Instagram isn’t about posting stories that last for 24 hrs and liking and sharing posts, it has much more to offer. There is an entire community of book readers, book reviewers and authors and they call it Bookstagram! Many book reviewers, authors and publishing houses host giveaways on Instagram, where you can participate for free. Surely, there are rules and the chances of winning are quite less, but this is one of the ways. Some other ways to get books from Instagram are:
Follow some publishing houses because they keep posting when any of their books are free on kindle for a limited time. You can directly add such books to your library, and read those books wherever you have time. I found some really great books with this source.
You can follow this hashtags like #freeonkindle #freeebookonkindle to get updates whenever any author or publishing house posts about such offers.
Borrow books from your bookish friends
If you are an absolute beginner, and none of the above ways work for you ( because of the eBook format), then the easiest way is borrowing some books from your friend who loves to read and has a great collection. That friend may recommend some good books to get started with. Once you build the interest and know your favourite genre, you will not hesitate to buy the books that really interest you. This will be like a trial period for you.
Hoping that you found this post useful. Stay tuned for more such content.
Check out my book reviews here.
You can also check: How I overcame my reader's block?