One of the benefits of owning a digital book reader is enjoying free electronic books. If you are new to using an Amazon Kindle, you might want to start with free books in the Kindle store. If you are comfortable downloading books and uploading them to your Kindle through the USB port or through Amazon's Kindle email system, you might want to explore sites for free Kindle books. If you are an advanced user who can convert ebook formats using software, you can access the mighty ebook library found in Google Books.
Free Kindle Books for Beginners
If you are just getting started with your Kindle, the easiest way to find free Kindle books is in the Kindle book store. You can do this from you Kindle. Be sure the Kindle wireless internet access is turned on, and go to the Kindle store by choosing "Shop in Kindle Store" from the menu.
You can either shop for a book by title or browse books. Classic books such as Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen are in the public domain and are free, so if you are looking for a classic book, search for it by title. If you want to browse free books, go to "Kindle Top Sellers" The will take you to a menu of the top 100 Kindle books. The default screen is "Kindle Top 100 Paid" books, but in the top right hand corner is the option for "Kindle Top 100 Free" books. Choose the "Top 100 Free" and you will see a list of the top 100 free Kindle books that you can download right away to your Kindle. Some of the options are games, some are classic books, and some are new books that authors and publishers are promoting by offering them as free Kindle ebooks.
Websites for Free Kindle Books
If you are comfortable transferring Kindle books with your USB cable or through the Amazon Kindle email tool, you can download Kindle books from several sites. One of the oldest ebook sites with free ebooks that are formatted for the Amazon Kindle is Project Gutenberg. The site offers books for every ereader, so be sure to choose Kindle formats (.mobi and .azw). It is easy to learn how to download free Kindle books from Project Gutenberg.
Another site that is similar to Project Gutenberg is ManyBooks.net. Many Books is easy to navigate, and you can search for books by authors, titles, genres, and languages. Many Books also has book recommendations and highlights books to get you started with free book suggestions. After you have downloaded free ebooks from Gutenberg or Many Books, you can send transfer the ebooks to your Kindle from your personal email address by using your Kindle email address.
Google eBooks for the Amazon Kindle
Google Books has over 3 million titles, but not all of them are free and none of them are formatted for the Amazon Kindle. You can download Google ebooks for any ereader, and even though they are not in native Kindle formats, do not be disheartened. You can download EPUB Google ebooks and convert them to Kindle books with free software called Calibre. This is not difficult for someone who is comfortable with installing software and transferring files, but beginners who are looking for books might want to read about how to download free books from Google Books for the Amazon Kindle.
The easiest way to get free books for the Amazon Kindle is to use the Kindle store and search for free books either by title or by sorting the top 100 Kindle books through the "Top 100 Free" books filter. If you are comfortable downloading and transferring free ebooks from your computer to your Kindle, try Project Gutenberg and Many Books for free Kindle ebooks. If you are ready to download, covert, and transfer free books to your Kindle, explore the Google Books ebook collection and build your own free ebook library.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
