Where to Find FREE or Cheap Books

FREE Books

Did you know copyrights run out on books? Most of the classics you buy in the store are available to download on the internet for free. Websites like Project Gutenberg and The Internet Archive are excellent sources for downloading books that have entered the public domain. If you aren’t into classics, you still need to check out these sites. Many books with copyrights prior to 1964 were not renewed and books printed without a proper copyright prior to 1989 are already in the public domain.

Some of my favorite public domain books include:

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

Many authors release their books for free over the internet. Some do it because they love writing and want to share their works. Some authors, like one of my favorites - Douglas Clegg, release their books for marketing purposes.

Publishing companies will run promotions offering free books for marketing purposes as well. We recently told you about one of these offers here.

It’s worth your time to visit the websites of your favorite authors and publishers to look for special promotions and to sign up for their newsletters.

Random House
Harper Collins
Douglas Clegg

FREE Books (+ shipping)

If you read a lot, you probably have a lot of books you no longer need. There are several websites you can use to swap your books with other readers.

My personal favorite site for swapping books is swaptree.com. I have had tons of success getting books I want through this site. The biggest advantage of this site is you make a direct swap. You don’t let go of your book until you are swapping for something you want.

Other sites like PaperBackSwap are great, but they work on a points system. I like to read fairly rare books and since I run the risk of sending out books and not finding the books I’m looking for, I don’t use these sites as often. If you read popular, mainstream books, you should definitely check it out.

SwapTree
PaperBackSwap
BookMooch

Used Books

Books are one of the best things to get used. The story is the same no matter how many times it’s been read!

Garage sales are the best resource for finding used books. This past weekend I got my son some excellent books for $.10 each! Most garage sale books run $.25 - $.50. A real bargain!

Goodwill, Half Price Books, and local used bookstores are places you can find real treasures for your library.

Some online sources of used books include:

Ebay - Don’t forget to shop through Ebates to save even more!
Half.com
AbeBooks
Alibris

Bargains on New Books

You can find lots of great books in your bookstore’s bargain section. Make sure you peruse this area first when you enter the bookstore.

Amazon.com offers an entire section of bargain bookson their website. You can find lots of great books for under $5.

A great resource I use on Amazon is their 4-for-3 promotion. If you select 4 qualifying books, you pay for 3 and get the 4th free. Thankfully the books we like are usually included in the promotion.

Amazon.com Bargain Books
4-for-3 promotion
Barnes and Noble Bargain Books
Barnes and Noble Bargain Books Under $5