Category: Books

Free e-books

There are many sources of free e-books, the grandmother of which is Project Gutenburg.  And don’t forget your own public library!  You won’t ‘own’ these ebooks, but you can borrow them.  Who knows if we really ‘own’ any of our bought ebooks, in any case? If you want to be informed of the latest free books, there are several services available that will send you daily or frequent emails about the latest free or inexpensive ebooks available.  I’ve found a few gems in the emails sent to me from these services.  And please note that they usually include other books which are not free, but are a modest price –  typically under $3.  Here are a few that I use (let me know if you have additional sourceds):

    1. Bookperk  (a Harper Collins initiative)
    2. Bookbub
    3. Sweet Free Books
    4. OneHundredFreeBooks

The book sellers online also have free ebooks, although sometimes you need to have search savvy to uncover them.

Kobo makes it easy to find their free ebooks, with a page dedicated to these.  It helpfully divides the books into categories, too.

Barnes and Noble booksellers also have a listing of their Nook free ebooks, also divided into categories.

The biggie Amazon has a free or low-cost ebook page, but there are other ways to search out free ebooks (though not easy).  To start, just browse their collection page. You can also sign up for the Kindle Daily Deal, which often introduces the reader to excellent writers. I have to give Amazon some praise here for turning me onto a favorite and high quality series by a free ebook, the first of  James Benn’s Billy Boyle series.  What a great writer and a beautifully rendered series on a Boston cop turned soldier during WWII.

Not a bookseller (although owned by Amazon), GoodReads has a listing of downloadable ebooks right from their site. I expect these change rapidly, though.

Even university presses have gotten into the promotion business.  The venerable University of Chicago Press will send you a free epub book each month.  While some of these are undisputably academic, the selectors do tend to pick those with quirky titles and topics – not bad!  Get on their email list.  These are quality books.Warning:  many of these free ebook deals are only available for one day, so act immediately if something looks worthwhile!

July — reading in the summertime

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July already, and I’m finding so many new books to read!  But the garden and beautiful outdoors are very tempting, as well.

Here in the Nashville area, things are heating up to the point where deck reading is no longer an option.

I’m still getting through the Great Group Reads selections — wait until you see the 2014 list of recommendations for book discussion groups!  This list will be full of great choices!

Also sprinkled around my house are some winners and some just plain good reads in various genres.

First up – another entry from the only animal-perspective series I like:  Spencer Quinn’s Bernie and Chet series.  The newest is Paw and Order by Spencer Quinn.  Could anything be more charming that the rough but likable Bernie and his furry companion and hotshot Chet?  Quinn has defined his Arizona landscape very well and branched out with his last book to the bayous of Louisiana.  This time, Bernie and Chet head to DC – and this new environment adds considerable depth and excitement to their adventures.  One of the best!  Highly recommended.