How to read books for free on Android and iOS

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

There are at least five different ways.

1. Applications of large services (only classic is available)

Large book services not only distribute books for money, but also provide free and legal access to the works of the classics. To start reading, you just need to install the necessary application on your smartphone and find the book you are interested in in its catalog. By downloading it to your device, you can read without an Internet connection.

Enjoy cross-platform applications from services such as Bookmate, Liters (Read Books Online) and MyBook. According to official information, their libraries contain 50,000, 32,000 and 27,000 free texts, respectively.

Bookmate and MyBook only allow books to be read within their programs. Against this background, "Liters" has an advantage. So, you can select a book in the "Read Books Online" application and export it to any third-party reading program. Almost every book on "Liters" is available in several formats: FB2, ePub, PDF and others.

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2. "Google Play Books" and Apple Books

Google and Apple branded stores contain many books, among which there are many free ones available. These are mainly classical works, as well as books by independent authors, but sometimes there are also popular novelties. Apple Books has most of its content in English. Google Play Books has a lot of literature, comics, textbooks and audiobooks in Russian.

To read, you need to install the official app on your smartphone.

Apple Books Apple

3. "Read for free" application

This is another application of the company "Liters", but available only on the Android platform. The program catalog contains over 50,000 free books, including contemporary fiction and non-fiction. In "Read for free" you will find both texts by domestic authors and translated books by foreign writers.

Texts are monetized through ad impressions, so be prepared for annoying ads to distract you from reading. But if you're a master at concentration, you can give the program a shot.

We also note that the range of the application lacks many popular texts that can be bought in offline stores or obtained from the paid catalogs Bookmate, Liters and MyBook.

Read Free LitRes

4. Free online libraries

In addition to paid services, there are online libraries where you can read books for free and completely legally. As a rule, the choice there is not so great, especially for literary novelties. However, you can always find something interesting. Here are some popular libraries:

• Samolit is a library with works by independent and emerging writers. Books are available for free, but there is an opportunity to thank the authors you like.
• TarraNova is an archive of foreign books provided personally by authors and translators or with their permission.
• Project Gutenberg is a well-known library of the project of the same name for the preservation of works of world literature, which are in the public domain. The books are available in various formats in English and other foreign languages.
• Bookz.ru is a large library of books and audiobooks, where, in addition to classics, there are modern works. Many books can be downloaded for free, but there are also paid ones.

5. "Liters Library"

The service of the same name from "Liters" allows you to legally and free of charge read any e-books from the catalog with a subscription from the local library. To do this, you need to issue a library card by contacting one of the nearest state libraries. By presenting your passport, you can get a username and password from your Liters account in order to log in to the website or mobile application and read books at any time.

Some libraries issue a library card online. For example, in the Library of Foreign Literature at this link. If your local library is not connected to Liters, ask the staff to write to [email protected] or do it yourself, specifying the contacts of the institution.

After registration in the catalog of books, in addition to the "Buy" button, another one will appear - "Get from the library". Access to the work is issued for two weeks. You cannot renew the lease, you can only request the book again. This works for both text variant and audiobooks. Copy protection does not allow you to simply download files to your device, you can only view them on the website or in the mobile application. In the latter case, offline reading is also available.

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Litres: Read and Listen online LitRes

This material was first published in February 2018. In January 2021, we updated the text.