The cost of books can add up quickly when you are a college student. Fortunately, there are a lot of great sites that offer free unabridged books online.
The average English literature teacher assigns dozens of books in a given semester to students who are enrolled in literature degree and literature diploma programs. The cost of these books can really add up over time. You can save yourself a lot of money by searching for free unabridged books online.
Where to Find Free Unabridged Books Online
The following websites offer free unabridged books online. If you love to read, and even if you don't, you're bound to find something on this list you'll enjoy. Book options include fiction, nonfiction, verse, classic works and reference books.
- Bartleby - Bartleby has one of the best collections of literature, verse and reference books that can be accessed online for no charge.
- Biblomania - A great collection of classic texts, reference books, articles and study guides.
- Books-On-Line - A directory of more than 50,000 (mostly free) books that are posted on the Internet. Browse by author, subject or keyword.
- Bookstacks - This site has nearly 100 free books from 36 different authors. The books can be read online or downloaded as a PDF.
- Bored.com - Read thousands of classic books and other ebooks online or transfer files to your computer. Special topics include music, games, cooking, science and travel.
- Classic Book Library - A free online library containing historical fiction, romance, mysteries, science fiction and children's literature.
- Classic Bookshelf - Electronic library of classic books with a special Java eBook reading program for easy viewing.
- Classic Reader - An expanding collection of classic fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's stories and plays--more than 4,000 works by hundreds of authors.
- Ebook Lobby - Hundreds of free ebooks in categories that range from business and art to computing and education.
- EtextCenter - More than 2,000 free ebooks from the University of Virginia Library's Etext Center. Books include classic fiction, children's literature, historical texts and bibles.
- Fiction eBooks Online - Hundreds of plays, poems, short stories, picture books and classic novels.
- Fiction Wise - Free works of fiction from the top independent ebook seller in the world.
- Full Books - Thousands of full-text books sorted by title--both fiction and nonfiction.
- Get Free Books - Thousands of free books on nearly every topic imaginable. All books are available for instant download.
- Great Literature Online - Free, HTML formatted e-text from ClassicAuthors.net. A links page for each author makes this site a great resource for college students.
- Hans Christian Andersen - A wonderful collection of stories and fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen (translated into English.)
- Internet Public Library - Online collection with more than 20,000 titles.
- Literature of the Fantastic - Small collection of science fiction and fantasy books with links to discussions.
- Literature Project - Free library of classic books, poems, speeches and plays with optional speech-to-text software.
- Magic Keys - Free illustrated children's stories for people of all ages.
- Many Books - More than 20,000 free ebooks for your ebook reader, PDA or iPod.
- Master Texts - Database of free, full-text literary masterpieces searchable by title, subject and author.
- Open Book Project This site, geared towards the educational community, provides free textbooks and other educational materials online.
- Page By Page Books - Hundreds of classic books that can be read in the Page By Page e-Library.
- Project Gutenberg - More than 25,000 free books are available from Project Gutenberg. An additional 100,000 titles are accessible through Project Gutenberg's partners and affiliates.
- Public Literature - A huge collection of fine literature that showcases classic authors and modern works from around the world.
- Read Print - Free online library with thousands of books, poems and plays for students and teachers.
- Ref Desk - Tons of free encyclopedias and other reference books from the best reference site on the web.
- The Online Books Page - A listing of over 30,000 free books on the web from the University of Pennsylvania.
- The Perseus Digital Library - An evolving digital library from Tufts University that features texts from the classical and Renaissance world.
Where to Find Free Audio Books Online
The following websites offer free audio books online. Download as many as you'd like!
- Audio Literature Odyssey - Complete and unabridged novels, poems, short stories and literary podcasts read by voice actor Nikolle Doolin.
- Audio Treasure - Free bible mp3 files for your computer or mp3 player. Includes links to free Christian audio books and classic books online.
- Classic Poetry Aloud - Free podcasts of classic poems and English literature.
- Free Classic Audio Books - Dozens of classic, human-narrated books that have been formatted for mp3s, mp4s and iPods.
- Learn Out Loud - Directory of over 500 free audio and video titles--includes audio books, speeches and lectures.
- Librivox - One of the best online resources for free audio books and podcasts from the public domain.
- Lit2Go - An online collection of classics and children's literature from Florida's Educational Technology Clearinghouse.
- Literal Systems - Free unabridged audio books ready for download.
- Spoken Alexandria Project - Free Creative Commons library of spoken word recordings--includes classics and modern works.
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is the original free electronic book producer. There are currently over 25,000 books in its online catalog, with 100,000 more titles available from many partners and affiliates.
Questia
Questia is best known as a resource for writers and students, but the site also hosts a library featuring more than 5,000 free books that may be read online. Offerings include rare books as well as classics.
Classic Book Library
This free online library holds many of the world's most treasured classics. Books are sorted into genres--romance, mystery, science fiction, historical fiction and children's literature--and include the writings of authors such as L. Frank Baum and Jane Austen.
FullBooks.com
FullBooks.com offers thousands of books that can be read online for free. All of these books are sorted by title. FullBooks.com also has links to sites with free reference books, biographies and science books.
Internet Public Library
The Internet Public Library is a good place to access newspapers, magazines and reference works. Nearly 100 links that will take site visitors to websites offering free online books. Links are updated regularly and include descriptions to help you find what you're looking for.
Classic Reader
Classic Reader has nearly 4,000 free classic books, poems, plays and short stories. You may read the books for free online and even add your own annotations.
Authorama
Authorama features free books from a wide range of authors. All of the books on this site are public domain and are formatted in XHTML, which means that text style and illustrations have been preserved. Currently more than 100 free books are available, with new books added on a regular basis.
Bored.com
Bored.com is just what the name implies--a website for people who are bored. The site offers thousands of free books that can be stored on your computer and/or read online. Book offerings include British literature, American literature, cookbooks, children's books, textbooks and reference books.
Read Print
Read Print is a free online library that was designed for teachers, students and readers of classic books. This well-organized site has its thousands of free books sorted by author. Other features include literature articles and a section on Shakespeare.
The Literature Network
The Literature Network features thousands of free short stories, books and poems that you maybegin reading immediately. The site also includes quizzes, author biographies and user comments.
LibriVox
LibriVox is a unique online library catering to both listeners and readers. The site has free audio books and links to text versions to read online. Other site features include book summaries, author bios and links to further book-related content.
Bartleby
Bartleby is one of those sites you'll want to bookmark as soon as you discover it. This Internet publisher features a huge collection of free books to read on your computer. Offerings include fiction, nonfiction, poetry and reference works.
Classic Bookshelf
The Classic Bookshelf is a nice place to read classic books online because of its easy readability program. Users can open the free book of their choice and then decide how they'd like the screen to look. Things readers can customize include page color, text color, print size, margin size and font.
ReadBooksOnline.net
Although this website isn't that pretty, it's a good place to read books online for free. The site has over 1,000 books by different authors. Offerings include the best of British, Irish and American literature.
Chest of Books
If fiction isn't your favorite thing, Chest of Books is a good place for you. This free online library features nonfiction books on a wide range of topics, including business, art, computers, finance, health, history, gardening, home improvement, science, real estate, sports and travel.
PublicLiterature.org
PublicLiterature.org has a good selection of free classic books that may be read online in a free user-friendly interface. The site also features works by accomplished authors from around the world. Reading categories include classics, comedy, children's, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, plays and sci fi.
Biblomania
Biblomania has over 2,000 poems, short stories, novels and plays to read for free online. New books are added each month. Biblomania provides study guides, literature articles and a whole range of resources for students to go along with these works.
International Children's Digital Library
The International Children's Digital Library Foundation provides access to online free books for children around the world. Books are available in many different languages and most of them feature user-submitted activities and other content that can be used in conjunction with the books.
Public Bookshelf
Public Bookshelf will likely have something to suit you no matter your interests. This online library has classic books as well as new authors. Free book categories fantasy, history, mystery, romance, teen fiction and horror. Public Bookshelf also features a substantial collection of nonfiction.
Perseus Digital Library
Perseus Digital Library of Tufts University is an evolving digital library featuring a wide range of materials and constantly updated with new content. Current works include modern English Literature, classics and science papers.
DailyLit
DailyLit offers a unique service for reading free books online. This site lets readers choose classic and contemporary books, then the books will be sent out in installments via RSS feed or email.
Fiction.us
Fiction.us is a great place to find free online novels. Books are split into chapters, so it's easy to remember where you left off. The site also offers poetry, plays and picture books.
Page By Page Books
Page By Page Books has hundreds of classic books that may be read online for free . Books can be searched for by author and title.
Lookybook
Lookybook is a wonderful resource for anyone searching for children's books. The site allows users to view entire books--including the illustrations--for free. Lookybook also features book reviews and provides an opportunity to buy the books.