Confessions of a Library Clerk: eBooks

I have a bit of a confession to make, I used to dislike ebooks. Yes, I know, it's unimaginable.  How could someone not like ebooks?! Well, at the time, (apart from when traveling) I didn't see why someone would want an ebook when they could have a real, in-the-paper book. (Sorry, all you ebook lovers, but while I have now seen the light and must acknowledge that I've now been bitten by the ebook bug,  they will never be able to replace the glorious feeling of having a real hardcover/paperback book in your hands.) However, you will be relieved to know, I have now repented of my ebook blasphemy (so please put your stones away, they will no longer be required). 

What changed my mind? Well, it started when I was given a free copy of 'The Cinder Crown' by D.R. Stokes to read and review (and if the author is reading this, I am reading it! I just ran into some technological glitches.) I thought I'd be able to read in on my laptops Kindle app. Well, turns out I was wrong. Many months later, I was able to get a tablet and was FINALLY able to start reading that ebook.  

This is when my interest in ebooks began, but it was still pretty weak. Then came my Kindle Unlimited Subscription.  In combination with my Goodreads account this further grew my interest in ebooks.  You see, I had, to my frustration, discovered that a great many of the books in my ever growing Goodreads list (it's now up to 1,026! Woohoo!) were only available as ebooks, or, if they did come as hardcover/paperback, no library in the state of Michigan had them available.  This is truly frustrating! To have so many fascinating books you wanted to read, but couldn't get a hold of them! But once I got that tablet a whole new world was opened up to me. I realized that many of them were offered on Amazon as free to-read with a Kindle Unlimited Subscription, and with a camping trip coming up and me being bereft of library books it was the perfect time! 

Ah, bliss, to at last be able to read some of the books that had been calling to me from Goodreads! It was beautiful, but, alas, with Kindle Unlimited you do not get to keep them, and as a part-time library clerk and student I could not (though tempting as it may be) afford to use my pay-check to purchase ebooks (*sob*). Thus began my quest, were there places that offered free ebooks? I had to know. And it was this quest, and desperation for more books (because who can ever have enough books?!), that led to my fully succumbing to the ebook bug. 

In the span of just a few months, my ebook collection has grown to over 200 (over 300 if you count that some of these are actually collections of multiple books). How did I do it? Where did I go to find all this ebook goodness? Turns out there are many great websites out there designed to help you find free or on sale ebooks! These are the ones I've currently found: 

1. BookBub
2. FreeBooksy
3. ManyBooks
4. BookSends
5. TheFussyLibrarian
6. eReaderIQ
7. EarlyBirdBooks
8. SweetFreeBooks
9. eBookSoda
10. SmashWords
11. DigiLibraries
12. Amazon Kindle eBook Store

This is just a few of the sites out there. There are many, many more! Now Amazon may be a surprise to some of you, but if you go to ebook bestsellers there are lists of the top selling paid and free ebooks (and it's updated hourly so don't just check once and never come back!).  Some books are up for free permanently on Amazon, while others are just free for a limited time.  You can find other free ebooks on Amazon by remembering to sort your search results as 'price: low to high.' 

Happy searching!