As you may know, I am somewhat obsessed with finding legal free books, music, and other things to keep me entertained. Since I’ve gotten my Kindle, I think I’ve downloaded somewhere around 300 legally free books– mostly from Project Gutenberg, which shall forever hold the key to my spendthrift heart.
But there are other places to get free books besides Project Gutenberg, and that’s where this bi-weekly report will come in. I’ll be posting about freebie downloads I find throughout my internet travels that interest me the most; it’ll be somewhat skewed towards Kindle books, since that’s what I have, but I’ll also let y’all know if other formats are available as well.
I’ve also added a section for books under $3, because that’s the pricepoint that tempts me the most. They’re all at Amazon because that’s where I use my gift cards. Self-centered, I know, but I hope it’ll help out some of y’all who want cheap reads, too. Enjoy!
Legend
[format, DRM/no DRM, location restricted to]
Comics
Vertigo is giving away first issues of several classic comic book series, including The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman (& others) that I REALLY recommend reading. Also Fables, which I think everyone loves, and also Preacher, which I reviewed a while ago! Lots of great stuff; thanks to The Literary Omnivore for the tip. [PDF, DRM'd?, global?]
Books
Tom Paine Maru by L.N. Smith is this month’s freebie from Phoenix Pick. Go to the website, click on the author’s name in the lefthand sidebar, then click on the download link when the book shows up in the righthand sidebar. Input this coupon: 9992224. Expires November 30th. Summary:
Whitey O’Thraight, the Ship’s Armorer on the first interstellar vessel launched by his home planet Vespucci, finds himself stranded on a strange planet with just one other survivor.
Captured by the local Baron, they are freed by a group of monks who are much more than they initially appear to be. Their new benefactors and friends have something special in mind for the two survivors, but going along with these plans might mean the destruction of Vespucci as they knew it.
[multiple, DRM-free, global]
Pemberley Chronicles by Rebecca Collins is currently free at Amazon, Sony, and so on. It’s a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, with more historical background stuff in it than what was in the original novels. Summary:
The weddings are over. The guests (including millions of readers and viewers) wish the two happy couples health and happiness. As the music swells and the credits roll, two things are certain: Jane and Bingley will want for nothing, while Elizabeth and Darcy are to be the happiest couple in the world!The couples’ personal stories of love, marriage, money, and children are woven together with the threads of social and political history of nineteenth century England. As changes in industry and agriculture affect the people of Pemberley and the neighboring countryside, the Darcys strive to be progressive and forward-looking while upholding beloved traditions.
[multiple, DRM'd, US-only?]
Note: Her other books are also on sale for less than $3 in most ebook stores, if you’re interested!
GOG – An End Time Mystery by Dan Richardson is free this month at Wowio. Summary:
After her husband Nick goes missing in Egypt, sheltered art curator Carina Wilde flies out to find him in a land devastated by a man-made flood two years earlier — a fulfillment of the Biblical prophecy of Ezekiel, many believe.
Stumbling upon the secrets he uncovered, she becomes a fugitive pursued by despots, religious fanatics, looters and occupying powers. Her only allies are an orphan scavenging the ruins of Cairo, and a Suez bar-girl whose relationship with Nick is just one of the questions Carina is forced to confront…
[PDF, DRM'd?, global]
Outlander by Diana Gabaldan is currently free at the Kindle store and elsewhere, so if you’ve been wondering about it because of all the recent blogosphere furor, this would be a good time to pick up a copy! The Kindle edition (don’t know about the others) also comes with extra stuff in it, like an interview and reader’s guide. Summary:
In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon—when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our Lord…1743.
Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire’s destiny in soon inextricably intertwined with Clan MacKenzie and the forbidden Castle Leoch. She is catapulted without warning into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life …and shatter her heart. For here, James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire…and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.
[multiple, DRM'd, US-only?]
Machine of Death, that anthology of stories and art about a machine that can tell how a person will die, is now available for free download! You can also listen to the podcast for free, where one story a week will be posted. [PDF, DRM-free, global]
Lady From the Jade Mountain by Jonathan Saville is free at Smashwords with the following coupon: KT54D. Expires November 14th. Summary:
No good deed goes unpunished. What seemed like a simple act of kindness by Thomas Eberle changes his life forever and leads him down paths of adventure and danger.
[multiple, DRM'd?, global]
Update: There are a bunch of previously out-of-print books at The Black Library relating to Warhammer, an MMORPG that I’ve never played but know of. I don’t think you had to have played Warhammer to enjoy the books; they’re basically just fantasy books, I think? Anyway, they post new books each Friday, and you can download previous weeks as well. Check it out! [ePub/.mobi, DRM-free, global]
Kindle Reads For Under $3 (not free but still cheap)
All of these are probably US-only, but I’m not sure.
- Cirque Du Freak #1: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan is $1.99 (ya horror/thriller/fantasy).
- The Dark Devine by Bree Despain is $2.39 (ya paranormal romance).
- Genghis: Birth of an Empire by Conn Iggulden is $1.59 (historical fiction).
- Firefly Island, an Epic Fantasy by Daniel Arenson is $2.99 (fantasy).
- Clementine by Cherie Priest, a book set in the same world as Dreadnought and Boneshaker, is $2.99 (sci-fi/fantasy steampunk).
- A bunch of authors have put up some of their backlist books as ebooks! And apparently there are quite a few for under $3; I haven’t looked through them yet but I’m assuming they’re pretty awesome. Check out the aStore here.
What free or cheap ebooks have YOU found recently?
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I’m so jealous of the US region kindle users (or users of any ebooks). Buying the Kindle edition of the Pemberley Chronicles would be 11.49 for me. I don’t have a Kindle, but a Sony reader but I’m sadly not allowed due to regional restrictions to buy from the Sony store either.
That said, I do like this feature
I should try and read those comics, I think!
Aw, that sucks! I do know that some non-US people can still buy from the US Kindle store, though they have to pay a “transaction fee” of something like $2. I don’t know how it works with the Sony store, unfortunately.
Hm. It’s free on BooksOnBoard too; you could try doing something like this fellow from Romania?
I looked through the post, but I am uncomfortable supplying a fake address. I tried downloading the Pemberley Chronicles though and it seems it works anyway
Thank you for that link, I had not heard of the site before!
Oh good! Yeah, BoB is like the better version of Fictionwise, which is where I used to buy my ebooks before they got all crappy. BoB is still pretty good though, I think? Anyway, I’m glad you got it.
Thanks for the tips!
You’re welcome! How are you liking your Kindle?
I absolutely adore it! I’m soooo glad I finally bought it. Now I’m reading quite a bit (which is a bad thing with all the school work I have.)
OMG! Thanks so much for posting this! I had no idea that Vertigo was offering so many great-looking comics for free! I just downloaded a bunch!
I know, I’m amazed! So many good series, including Neil Gaiman ones which are AMAZING~ Nerdgasm happening over here, yup.
Also, I finally sent that Revolutionary mothers book to you yesterday! I’m sorry about being a little late with it, but I hope you enjoy it!
Don’t worry about being late! We’re students, we’re busy!
I can’t wait to start reading it! Thanks again!
[...] actually available for free itself, but I used a gift card on it so it was free for me anyway. (See here for most of those [...]
Thanks about the Vertigo tip. I pride myself on finding all the (legal) freebies on the net, but I missed that one
One for you!
Awesome, awesome, awesome. One of my hangups about buying my Kindle was that I’m a huge cheapskate when it comes to books, so any new sources of free books are fine by me! I scour Amazon pretty religiously for new postings, and I know about the Baen Free library, but I haven’t had a lot of luck turning up new sources.
Except! Places like Tor.com that publish short stories for free, but only on the web/not in a downloadable format, I’ve been copy/pasting into a text file, and uploading that to my Kindle.
I keep checking my core one or two websites to find freebies, but I keep getting the feeling I’m missing loads of free stuff somewhere. I know some publishers do “read these books online for free,” but you can’t download them and I hate reading books through my browser, soooo. Hm.
Tor.com USED to give out really good ebook freebies– they’re how I found out about Jane Lindskold, when they gave away one of her books– but they haven’t done that in a long time.
Anyway, what you might do is save the short stories in .html format, then convert it to .mobi format or something with Calibre. Might be easier than copy-pasting?
That’s essentially what I do, except I think that if you just saved the page as .html, then you’d get all of the headers and sidebars and stuff in the .mobi file too… so I select just the text that I’m interested in reading.
Thanks for sharing the comics link. The reviews of “Fables” have been intriguing, but my library doesn’t have it. It’s nice to have the option to check out the first issue for free.
You’re welcome! Yeah, I think it’s great they’re giving out first issues for free, especially because graphic novels tend to be expensive and that could be a turn off to someone who doesn’t know if it’s a good story or not (and who don’t have time to read the first bit in the store, I guess?).
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