How to Read for Free

For the final part of this three-part series, today I’m talking about free resources where you can read for free. I will not be talking about libraries, because we all know about those, and unfortunately some people do not have local ones with big selections. Instead, this post is about online resources.

Table of contents ☰

• PART 1: Book Buying Habits
• PART 2: Where to Buy Books as an International Reader
  • Useful tools
  • Where to Buy
• PART 3: How to Read for Free
  • For Classics Readers
  • For YA Lovers
  • For Those Who Love ARCs
  • For People with a Platform
  • For Audiobook Listeners

For Classics Readers

These are just two examples of where to find classics. Since many of them are public domain, you can find them in many different pages, but these are the ones I use regularly.

1. Project Gutenberg

This site is your friend if you’re in the lookout for classics. There are over 60000 books to read for free, sometimes available in different languages. I totally recommend checking it out before buying any classic, as you might find it here.

2. Elejandría

Another public domain catalogue of classics, this time for Spanish speakers.

For YA Lovers

1. Riveted

This site is amazing, as every month it will have a selection of YA books you can read for free during that month. It’s very easy to use and the titles they choose are really varied.

For Those Who Love ARCs

I have a feeling some people wouldn’t list ARC (advanced reader copy) requesting sites here, because we often think of them as sites for bloggers, booktubers, or someone with a platform, but the truth is that although, yeah, sometimes it can be hard to be approved for requests, there are books that are available to read instantly, without having to request them.

1. NetGalley

Possibly the most used of the two because of its user-friendly interface. The downside is that some ARCs might be inaccessible depending on your country.

2. Edelweiss+

It has a huge list of titles to request, but it can be harder to get approved. I would urge you to try, because you never know if a publisher will give you access to your most highly anticipated book.

For People with a Platform

Although I’ve titled this “for people with a platform”, the truth is that said platform doesn’t have to be that big, so I’d advice checking these out even if you think you don’t meet the requirements. I’m talking about the ones I’m a part of but there are plenty more of these types of programs—for more, go check the posts I linked at the end.

1. Libro.fm ALC Program

This is for educators, librarians, booksellers, media/reviewers, and influencers. You can sign up and you will be able to read free audiobooks! You will be sent a selection of about nine novels monthly.

2. Hachette Audio Influencer Program

I don’t think there’s a form open at the moment, but it’s worth keeping an eye out for. This works similarly to Libro.fm’s but with a bigger selection of books.

For Audiobook Listeners

So, here is the oldest trick in the book of listening to audiobooks for free: free trials are your best friends. I wrote an entire blog post about where to listen to audiobooks a while back, so I recommend reading that. But just know that almost all audiobook sites offer free trials, which you should 100% make use of.

1. Spotify

This is the one resource that offers free audiobooks without need of a free trial. It has more audiobooks that one might expect, so checking it out is totally worth it.

Other posts to check out relating to these topics:

• Read More Books – Free, Legal Alternatives to Pirated Books by Shealea @ Shut Up, Shealea
• How to Get ARCs From Publishers by Yuki @ Yuki Reads
• 10+ Affiliate Programs for Book Bloggers to Join by Kal @ Reader Voracious
• Alternatives to Amazon ❖ by Erin @ Reading on a Star

Have you used any of these? Do you know about any other sites to read for free?

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