Following our post with simple tips on how to turn a Samsung mobile device into a powerful e-reading device, we’d like to share a list of best sites where you can download free ebooks, completely legally.
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There is one essential thing to know. Since mid 2014, the default e-reading application for Samsung Galaxy devices is Kindle for Samsung.
Many users who were reading on Samsung before, are disappointed with Kindle app. Hopefully, using the Kindle e-reading ecosystem is not obligatory.
Samsung devices are powered by Android, so you can access Google Play Store, and download any other book reading app.
Make your decision wisely, because depending on the app you choose, you’ll have to download free ebooks in a different file format:
- Kindle for Samsung – mobi
- all other apps – epub
Most apps support also pdf. but epub is much more flexible. It allows users to adjust several settings. You can change font size, typeface, or switch to night mode (white letters on black background). Therefore, reading ebooks on smaller screens is much more pleasant than fixed-layout pdf documents.
If you are not eager to tie to any of the major ebookstores, like Kindle, Barnes & Noble, or Kobo, you can pick up an independent book reading application from Google Play.
You can browse them in Book & Reference category. Our recommendations are Moon+ Reader, Aldiko, and FBReader.
All sites listed below offer free books in epub, as well as mobi, and pdf.
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8 sites with free ebooks for Samsung tablets
1. Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is the top place to download free classics. They are very well-edited and proofread. What’s more, you can browse the site by language.
Currently there are over 40,000 public domain books in the catalog. There are two kinds of epub files: with or without images. The one with images takes much more disk space – and that also means it will take longer to download it from the library to your Google Books application.
Project Gutenberg offers a convenient way to keep up with newly added books – you can subscribe to an RSS feed. You can also get notified of new entries via email.
2. Smashwords
Smashwords is one of the most popular places to find ebooks from independent authors and publishers. Books are available in several languages, all are DRM-free, and many authors make their publications available for free.
The site distributes books to a few major ebookstores, Nook Store, and Kobo among them. In other words, if you are using Nook or Kobo app on your Samsung, most probably you’ll have access to Smashwords books.
To quickly get to the list of free ebooks, simply use combination of the three top filter bars. For instance, here is the link to: bestsellers – that are free – that are 50k words or longer.
Currently there are about 25,000 free ebooks on Smashwords. You can first pick a category, and then select Free tab to get a list of free titles in your favorite genre. For instance, there are 2,100 science-fiction books that are free on Smashwords.
3. Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with a mission of “universal access to all knowledge.” The website is a huge digital library of text, audio and video files. It offers over 3.8 mln ebooks and texts. Sub-collections include American Libraries, Canadian Libraries, books from Project Gutenberg, titles from the Million Books Project, and books for children.
When you find the interesting book, you’ll see in the left panel the list of available formats. In most cases epub will be included.
4. Open Library
Open Library is another initiative of the Internet Archive. The site positions itself as “the world’s classic literature at your fingertips”. There are over 1,000,000 free ebook titles available.
The biggest benefit of Open Library is that it’s driven by a strong community. It’s like Wikipedia for ebooks.
If the book had more than one edition, you’ll see them listed on Open Library. For instance, Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, first published in 1876, have 306 editions altogether and most of them have separate download directories.
5. Feedbooks
On Feedbooks you can find both public domain (Public Domain section) and free contemporary books (Original Books section), both fiction and non-fiction.
As the site is based in France, there are a lot of titles in French, as well as in other languages, not only in English.
The site offers RSS feeds of specific categories, so you can subscribe to them and get new books the moment they are added to offer.
6. Goodreads
The largest book discovery site, Goodreads, offers also books in epub format.
The catalog is not huge, there are only 2,500 titles listed here, but they are very interesting ones. For instance you can download Harry Potter: The Prequel by J.K. Rowling, a short story set about three years before the birth of Harry Potter. It recounts an adventure experienced by Sirius Black and James Potter. The books are available in epub, pdf and txt format.
7. ManyBooks
The site offers 29,000 free ebooks. The site is very well-organized and it’s easy to browse for books or follow recommendations.
The book detail page displays not only the usual fields like the author or publish date, but also word count and the reading ease. The number of available formats is impressive. Epub included.
8. DigiLibraries
The site is an online ebook catalog, where you can find almost 30,000 titles – all of them are free. There are several categories to choose from. The most popular are Poetry, Juvenile Fiction, and Literary Collections.
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Check out other lists on Ebook Friendly:
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