Representative image of an e-book reader.
Books, as many a wise man has said, is irreplaceable in a person’s life. Almost all of us, at some point in time, have fallen back upon our favourite authors to pull us through, and teach us a wide range of aspects about life. This World Book Day, bookworms across the world will not be able to celebrate by ordering their usual bunch of new books, or hit a public library for an elusive copy of John Purkis preface, which most likely went out of reprint decades ago. To make up for this, these five, free and public e-book libraries can offer you resplendent collections of e-books and audio books, which you can explore to satiate the craving of reading a new book today.
PS: Most of the following collections are not for profit ventures, as a result of which they do not earn by providing you with the collection of free, rare books. If you enjoy their service, do consider making donations in their favour, to keep the lights on for a fellow bookworm to discover in desperate times.
This is possibly one of the best known volunteer driven digital book library around the world, and the certified oldest library of its kind. Most of the works that have been saved and documented by Project Gutenberg pre-date the year 1924, and hence makes for a fantastic reservoir of pre- and post-World War I literature, the likes of which you will not find anywhere else across the internet. Project Gutenberg is also special for the way it has maintained itself – having started back in 1971 by American author Michael Hart, the library still maintains its volunteer driven, free for all approach.
The Internet Archive is a one-stop non-profit shop for all things uncommon on the internet – be it an elusive novel, a rare music album or movies that faded into oblivion. Archive’s collection of e-books include long-forgotten journals and memoirs, as well as digital drafts of manuscripts dating back by decades. In essence, what you get here is a collector’s heaven that can not just help you kill time, but build collection and knowledge par excellence.
The Open Library, on the other hand, has a terrific collection ranging from Stephen King and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, to J.K Rowling Agatha Christie. While Project Gutenberg’s appeal may primarily lie with academicians, Open Library offers something for everyone to read. The library is supported by voluntary donations, which is then invested in sponsoring e-books for interested readers. You may face some waiting time to be able to borrow the book of your choice, but be rest assured, the wait is worth it.
As the name suggests, this is one of the widest collections of PDF books across the internet. The best part about PDF Books World is its seemingly massive collection of authors across the ages, and its impeccable indexing of the excellent collection. From sorting through genres, sub-genres and authors, PDF Books World will give you a large enough e-book library to not just see you through the lockdown period, but actually keep you hooked for far, far longer.
The one super appealing factor behind ManyBooks is how it features an entire section for science fiction. It is also most likely one of the most intuitively designed and graphically appealing free e-book libraries on the internet, and its collection also features a whole variety of lesser known novels from across numerous genres, which you certainly wouldn’t be finishing in a hurry.
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