E-Read All About It!

Whether they are just a fad or here to stay, e-readers seem to be taking over the world right now. Their use and popularity have grown at alarming rates in recent years and there is no sign of this letting up anytime soon. Some love the convenience and portability of those slim little gadgets, while others prefer the smell and feel of an actual book. Personally, my biggest complaint about e-readers has been the need to buy what you read. Sure, Amazon would give me The First 1001 Fibonacci Numbers by Simon Plouffe for free, but what about Now You See Her by James Patterson

Fortunately, the popularity of e-readers has inspired the creation of some wonderful free resources. Read on for some of the top options:

• BAPL – I couldn’t let a post on e-books go by without mentioning an exciting new service coming soon to the library! Readers will soon be able to download audiobooks and e-books to their computer, cell phone, iPod or e-book reader. This free service will be available 24/7 and includes automatic returns.
• InkMesh – This handy search engine explores thirty-four online sources for free e-books. Just type in the book title or author you are looking for and click on “Find Free Ebooks”. InkMesh will do the rest of the work for you!
• eBookFling – Have you purchased e-books, read them and then left them sitting idle on your reader? By using eBookFling, you can actually swap such e-books with others nationwide, for free.
• The Online Books Page – Managed by the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, this site provides access to hundreds of thousands of free online books. It also features special exhibits of unique types of online books and recommendations for useful directories and archives of online texts.

What free e-book resources have you discovered?

-Erin