Books these days can be quite expensive especially when you have a book obsession and are constantly reading. This can put quite a hole in your pocket. I’m here to tell you all the ways you can read books for free or for a small fee. If you’re interested just keep reading!

Do you have a book blog? Do you have a Goodreads account? Do you have another platform on which you like to talk about books? Do you have an e-reader?

If yes, then give NetGalley a go!

It’s free to sign up and become a member. You are given the opportunity to request books that are not yet on the shelves. If a publisher thinks your profile meets their needs they will accept your request and allow you to have access to the digital book. After reading the book you are asked to send feedback to the publisher. Make sure you send feedback with everything you get approved for as it affects your feedback rating! The higher the rating you have the more inclined publishers are to accept your request. They also have a “read now” section that allows you to read without waiting for approval and helps you gain a good feedback ratio. How cool is that? All you need is a platform to promote their book and send feedback and in return you get to read books for free! You get to discover new books first and be a part of a community that loves books just as much as you.

Nowadays a lot of people have e-readers or tablets that they can access digital copies of books. Bookbub is a site that sends you a daily emails with the latest deals on books. These books are either free or in the range of $1-$5. One day I was able to get “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins for $4.99! Like NetGalley it is free to sign up! At sign up you enter your preferences and your daily emails will cater to what you choose (this can be changed at any time). It is available for Kobos, Kindles, and iBooks.

For those that use their iPads or iPhones for reading the bookstore on iTunes actually offers a lot of books for free. I’ve noticed that all the “classics” are on their for free. BookBub coincides with iBooks and will let you know when iBooks has books for free/cheap. I’m sure that you can just type in free and browse what they have. Like when searching for apps you can view the top paid books and the top free books. Another great option for spending money on literature.

I’m sure that everyone is aware that Kindle is linked with Amazon. You don’t need to have a physical kindle to access these books. I personally use the kindle app on my iPad. Like iTunes you can browse through the free books option or click which genre you are interested. eBooks are generally cheaper than physical copies so when a new release comes out and I can’t wait for the price to drop on the hardcopy I will definitely purchase it through Amazon. I think the best part about buying eBooks is the fact that you don’t have to wait for it to be shipped. As soon as the payment is made it is at your fingertips.

Project Gutenburg is an online book catalogue with hundreds and hundreds of books. You can search by the title if you’re looking for a specific one, you can look at their top 100 books, you can look at their recently added and save books to your bookmarks. These aren’t just eBooks you can also get audiobooks!

Like NetGalley, First To Read gives you the chance to read books before they’re released. I believe the site is mostly for Americans. I used a U.S. zipcode to sign up for it to see how the site worked. You get to choose your reading preferences and it gives you the option to send a review. Also like NetGalley you request the book and they approve/deny your request. However, you can get automatically approved by gaining points. I believe that obtaining 1000 points guarantees you a copy because they know that you review. I really want to try to give this site another go!

I love BookOutlet so much. You can spend $50 and get over 10 books! They offer books at really reduced prices. By reduced I mean 50-90% off the cover price! You’re probably thinking how do they manage? Well, “the books are marked down because most of the titles are marked with a small line or dot on the edge of the book by publishers who sell us their returns and excess inventory. This mark ensures that the books will not be returned to the publisher for a second credit. The books we sell are not used, they are unread and in excellent condition”. They also have a “Scratch & Dent” option that are even cheaper. I have purchased from this section before and the quality is really not that bad. There could be a small tear on the cover page but that’s about it. Then you’re getting a $20 books for $2. Nothing wrong with that. I highly recommend this site for those of you who like to have physical copies in your hands.

Find a library in your area and get yourself a card! They offer so many books for free to read!