When you’re feeling down or stressed out, there really is nothing better than sinking into a good book. But what can make you even more stressed is how expensive those books can be. Ebooks tend to be cheaper, but even they usually require you to own a Kindle or tablet of some kind (a luxury many of us can’t afford).
Luckily, there are plenty of places where you can read books online for free. Even better, a lot of these sites don’t require you to download a file meant to be read on a tablet. Instead, you’re able to read the books right on your browser.
Here are just a few of those sites. Many of the books available tend to be those in the public domain, but there are definitely places to find contemporary works as well. Whether you’re looking to read some of the classics or track down the next great indie author, this list has got you covered.
American Literature is a “Free Library of Classic Books & Novels”. On each book’s page, you’ll find a short description of the story that will help you decide whether or not it’s your cup of tea. Below the description are links to all the book’s chapters, which are written in very readable text. A site like this is perfect if you need a cheap way to read classics for school—you can even copy and paste quotes when you’re writing your final papers.
Some of the books you can read for free:
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
This is another great site for reading the classics. You can organize the e-Library’s impressive collection by Title or by Author. Each work’s page has a table of contents that links to all the novel’s chapters or parts. Like American Literature, Page by Page’s browser text is copy-and-paste-able and very easy to read.
Some of the books you can read for free:
- The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
- The Call of the Wild by Jack London
- Anne Of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (BONUS: The site also features other books in this series, like Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island)
Internet Archive’s Open Library offers over 3 million books that you can peruse online. All you have to do is search for the title you want and click “Read” to the right of the work’s title. The site’s online reader enables you to actually flip through the pages of a virtual book that looks just like the real version. Another perk is that you have the option to listen to each book.
Some of the books you can read for free:
4) ReadPrint
ReadPrint offers thousands of free books and has a very user-friendly interface. Here you can find essays, fiction, non-fiction, plays, poetry, and short stories. The site also features tons of quotes that are organized by both author and subject (another handy feature for writing those school papers). Clicking “Read Online” will allow you to read each book in your browser. If you select the option to “Launch Reading Mode”, the text will appear on the pages of an aesthetically pleasing virtual book.
Some of the books you can read for free:
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
5) Google Books
If you’ve ever done research for a paper, it’s likely that you’ve already used Google Books to preview a relevant book. But you may not have realized that you can actually read the entirety of several books that are in the public domain. You just need to make sure to select the “Full view” option at the top of the search results. You can click the “Read for free” button on the book’s page to read it online. A nifty feature is that each book’s page can also tell you which libraries near you have the book available.
Some of the books you can read for free:
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
- The Complete Works of William Shakespeare
As great as the classics are, it’s nice to be able to read some contemporary stuff as well. In addition to several classic titles, you can also read independently published romance novels and stories on PublicBookshelf. There are many romance genres available, like Fantasy & Paranormal, Regency, and Western. Readers rate each book out of five stars, which should help you in deciding what to read.
Some of the books you can read for free:
7) Smashwords
On Smashwords, you can also enjoy books for free by up-and-coming authors. The site features various categories like Humor & Comedy, Fantasy, and Romance. There are also Nonfiction titles, as well as essays, plays, screenplays, and poetry. Just remember to select the “Free” option at the top of the search results. If you go toward the bottom of the sidebar on the left, you can sort the books by “Highest Rated”.
Some of the books you can read for free:
- The Murder of Meagan McFarlin by M. Troy McDaniel
- Undead Advantage, A Zombie Chronicles Novel by Mark Clodi
- Dimension Shifter by T.M. Nielsen
8) Wattpad
When you arrive at Wattpad, you’re given the option to “Start Reading” or “Start Writing”. If you choose to read (which will require setting up a free account), you will be able to browse through Historical Fiction, Science Fiction, Fan Fiction, and more. You can also peruse Editor’s Picks and titles that have won in various categories of the site’s Watty Awards. The number of star ratings each book has will help you to make your selection.
Some of the books you can read for free:
Fictionate.me is another self-publishing platform with some exciting new authors—particularly in the sci-fi/fantasy arena. While it costs a few dollars to read a whole book (most of the books are priced at $0.99), you are able to read at least the first chapter for free. The online reader is very aesthetically pleasing with options to make the text larger and shift to Night Mode. As with Internet Archive, you are also able to listen to each title if you like. Readers use hearts to vote for the books they most enjoy.
Some of the books you can read for free:
10) Manybooks
Manybooks really gives you the best of both worlds with its library of over 50,000 books. They’ve got a wonderful mix of classic and contemporary titles. The site also has a beautifully designed interface that is very easy to navigate. Some of the e-library’s genres include Mystery/ Detective, Satire, and Young Readers. You can also search by title, author, or keyword and sort by popularity. The site’s “Discuss” section offers you a chance to interact with other readers and feel a sense of community.
Some of the books you can read for free:
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
- The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
- The Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher
Author’s Bio: Jillian Karger was born in Ohio but has lived in and around New York City for over a decade. Since graduating from NYU in 2009, Jill has had a long string of jobs doing things like scouting books to be adapted for film and researching trivia questions for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”.
She has done freelance writing as well for sites like Cracked.com, and had her Twitter jokes featured on BuzzFeed and funnyordie.com. Jill has also self-published two novels on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Jillian-Karger/e/B07B894DNW).
Follow her blog posts about books and writing advice, read books and publish them for free at: https://www.fictionate.me.
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