In my last In My Mailbox post, I featured only books that I’d downloaded from Amazon for free over the last few weeks. After several people contacted me asking how I found out about what books were available for free, I decided that a post sharing the ways I discover free Kindle books was in order. I use Amazon.com, Facebook, and Twitter to find these books.
I had a Kindle 3 Keyboard that I absolutely loved, but I gave it to my mother when I bought a Kindle Fire last year–so I’m completely prepared to read books purchased or downloaded for free from Amazon. But you don’t need a Kindle to read books from Amazon.com because you can download the free Kindle App for your Smartphone (iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7, Blackberry), Computer (both Windows and Mac), Tablets (iPad and Android), and Internet (via Amazon Cloud). It’s really convenient to take advantage of any of these for free books. You’ll obviously need to create an account with Amazon.com if you don’t already have one, but you’ll be up and running in no time.
Now for the disclaimer: Make sure you check that the price for any book you are about to purchase is actually $0.00. Books are often free for a limited time, and they will go back to a dollar amount without notice. The Kindle Price should say “$0.00” like in the picture below) And I’m not getting paid by Amazon for this post, I just want to share my links with you 🙂 These are all for the US Amazon.com store.
- top 100 free books, which is updated hourly. This list is a mix of genres, and you can scroll through the list and click on the covers to examine the individual titles. You can also access the top 100 books sorted by genre, like the top 100 Children’s books which includes Young Adult literature. Here’s a screen shot of the book Breakers by Edward W. Robertson that I just snagged for free from the top 100 list. It was sittin at #8 on the free list last night, and the cover was really cool. Once I read the synopsis and the reviews, I decided to give it a shot. Notice that the area circled in yellow says “Kindle Price $0.00” so it’s free.
Screenshot of free Amazon.com book on 5/18/2012
When I ordered this book on Friday, 5/18/2012, it was free, but when I went to Amazon.com to get the weblink for my In My Mailbox post on Saturday, 5/19/2012, the price was $3.99. Free books aren’t always zero dollars for long.
Facebook
There are a several groups on Facebook that I subscribe to that post free books. I’m sharing two groups that post the most free books.
KotC and KotC Teens
KotC (Kindle on the Cheap) and KotC Teens post books with the price, genre, average star rating, page count. Each post is for one book and they post a lot, so it can clutter up your facebook feed. I discovered this group through author Scott Nicholson, and it’s been a great resource for free books. They clearly list the price, so it will say *FREE* first thing in the post! Click on the link in the post and you’ll be taken directly to the Amazon page for the book.
Cheap e-Reads is the Nook version of KotC for those of you who have the Barnes and Noble Nook. You just “like” the group and get individual updates just like with KotC.
eReader News Today
eReader News Today doesn’t send individual messages like KotC does. Instead, they send a few posts a day that have several books listed at one time. You must click a link to go to their website, where you can then read a description for each book, see the cover, and click a link that takes you directly to the Amazon.com page.
Twitter
I follow several users on Twitter that tweet out book deals and freebies all day long. Here are a few of the best ones. Click on the picture to go to their twitter page.
How do I decide which books to download? I’m not much of a cover person, so I go straight to the book synopsis. If that gets my interest I head straight for the reviews. I read the first one, which is the best, and then I head for the worst star review. If it mentions anything about horrendous grammar, I just don’t download it because that’s a deal breaker for me. But what do you have to lose since you got it for free, anyway?
So go on, use these links to discover new authors and some great new books. There are literally thousands of them waiting out there to be discovered. Please let me know in the comments how you find free books for your ereader, and if you’ve had any luck with the books you’ve downloaded for free in the past. Also, I’d love to know about any websites, twitters, and facebook groups that you use to discover these hidden gems!
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I'm a PhD chemist who loves sarcasm, music, and books-paranormal, mystery, thriller, suspense, horror, and romance. Most of my free time is spent at the martial arts studio these days--whether practicing Combat Hapkido or reading books while watching my son's Taekwondo classes, or even working up a sweat with Kickboxing for fun.
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Tags: Amazon, facebook, Free eBooks, Freebies, Heather, Sharing the Love, Twitter
Great post with lots of useful sites. I like cheap ereads and get updates on facebook. Just tell them what type of reader you have and they send you updates. I have a nook and like this feature. Breakers looks good!
kimba88 recently posted..At Grave’s End (Night Huntress #3) by Jeaniene Frost
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I’ll have to check out cheap ereads on Facebook. Thanks for the tip and for stopping by!
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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And I just checked out Cheap e-reads, and they are the same as KotC, but just for formats other than the Kindle!
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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I use Pixel of Ink. Like them on facebook and they send notices out throughout the day: https://www.facebook.com/PixelofInkYoungEdition(young edition)
https://www.facebook.com/PixelofInk
I also use Inspired Reads for Christian books.
Julie @My Favorite Pastime recently posted..Black Dawn by Rachel Caine
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I use the Pixel of Ink twitter, and I didn’t know they were on Facebook. I’ll have to check them out since I’m on Facebook more than Twitter these days. Thanks for the links!
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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I like Pixel of Ink on Facebook, too. Another site to check out is Freebooksy – http://www.freebooksy.com/
They’re on Facebook / Twitter as well.
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I use Pixel of Ink on Twitter. Thanks for the tip on Freebooksy. I’ll be checking them out, Marie!
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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THANK YOU, HEATHER!!!!
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You’re welcome, Kristen. I write this with you in mind 🙂 Definitely join the KotC Facebook group because it has the most free books.
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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I LOVE Kindle freebies! 😀 I am definitely a cover person and won’t usually take a second look at a free book if the cover isn’t appealing to me. I’m sure I might miss out on lots of great books this way but I have to narrow it down somehow… I already have about 200 free YA books on my Kindle! I usually just use Pixel of Ink.
I stopped purchasing indie books though because every. single. time I bought one, it became free in the following months. :/
Nicola recently posted..Review: Bound by C.K Bryant (The Crystor Series #1)
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I follow Pixel of Ink on twitter too, but I didn’t include them in my post because I just included the ones that showed up in my feed the most over the days that I checked last week in preparation for this post. But they are a great resource as well!
I don’t buy that many Indie books any more either since they pop up as free all the time too. Plus, I have so many books in my to be read pile right now, I don’t know when I’ll get to them!
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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Great post!
I recently started getting into the free kindle book madness and now I can’t stop!
I now post them on Win on Wednesday posts:
amugglesmagicalbookblog.co.za/wp/?p=3009
And I also started a twitter to share some of them:
https://twitter.com/#!/KindleBookDeals
Thanks for all the links you posted! I am going to check out each and everyone of them!
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I just followed your twitter. It’s nice to see one that features YA books! Thanks for sharing, and I hope these links help you out.
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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Thanks so much! I’m actually not really into eBooks, but it’s hard to say no to free ones! Just loaded up my PC Kindle app with a bunch of free books. Thank you!
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You’re welcome! It’s nice to have a little stockpile for when you’re between books and you don’t know what to read next. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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Hi Heather,
I used to preruse Amazon’s freebies daily when I firet got my Kindle in 2008. I have read some good free reads. The one thing you forgot to mention, and it is just something that bugs me but I don’t think I am the only one.. watch the freebies closely for Christain books. There a lot of those available and they aren’t clearly labeled. It happened to me several times I would be reading a book enjoying the story and then all of a sudden there these random religious references. I hate that. It is one thing if I deliberately pick one up but to have it covertly forced on me is another.
Heidi recently posted..The Girl in the Steel Corset (Steampunk Chronicles #1) by Kady Cross
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Yeah, Heidi, good point! That’s what I like about KotC because they clearly spell out if it’s a Christian book or not. Plus, I usually stick to paranormal books, which tend to not be heavily religious. At least you don’t feel bad about deleting them from your Kindle if you got it for free, right? But authors should be upfront about this in their synopsis. Thanks for bringing this up.
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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This is suich a helpful post! I’ve always wondered how readers were able to find free Kindle deals! Thanks for the post!
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No problem, Addie! I figured if a few people were asking about this topic, there were more who would like to know. Glad I could help! Thanks for stopping by!
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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Hi Heather,
I just wanted to point out that the @kindlefreebies twitter account hasn’t made any new tweets in almost 3 years. There are others out there and I’ll let you know of them when I find them.
Thanks.
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Thanks for pointing that out, Doug! I removed the link.
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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[…] up, I downloaded Breakers by Edward W. Robertson yesterday in preparation for my post, Resources for Free Kindle Books. I got it for free yesterday on Amazon, but it’s back up to $3.99 today. In New York, Walt […]
This is an incredibly useful post. I’m going to bookmark it and go over it more carefully later.
Alison (AlisonCanRead) recently posted..Bookish Recap
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Thanks! Hope it can help you snag some great free books!
Heather recently posted..In My Mailbox – Heather’s Beat the Heat Edition
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One quick strategy I use to get free kindle Ebooks to download in Amazon Kindle is to go to a category I Like, arrange the results from lowest to highest and choose the $0 among the results =)
Grace Sevilly recently posted..Discount Light Blue Perfume
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That is a great tip, and it will certainly help when you’re looking for something specific. Thanks, Grace!
Heather recently posted..In My Mailbox – Heather’s Beat the Heat Edition
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[…] to Bewitched Bookworms for introducing me to the world of free Kindle eBooks on Amazon.com! I’m not really an eBook […]
Thanks for sharing this info! I never knew there were so many sources to find cheap Kindle books.
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No problem, Julie. Glad I could help:)
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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Thanks for sharing, Heather! 😀
I’m always looking for Kindle Freebies, too. I use a few of those already, but some are new. 🙂
I also use eReaderIQ.com – They have newsletters that you can subscribe to, so you’ll be emailed with new freebies each day. You can also select which country you’re in, and in their emails it’ll say which countries each freebie is available in, which is really handy! 😀
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I’ll definitely be checking out eReaderIQ.com. Thanks for letting me know about it!
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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You’re welcome! 😀
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Thanks for the links! I have a Kindle but I rarely use it unless I can get a free or cheap book! Didn’t know there were so many ways to find them!
Jeff @ The Book Worm Hole recently posted..Feature & Follow #1
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You’re welcome, Jeff! I mainly use my Kindle for books that authors send me to review, but also for free and cheap books as well. Since I have a Kindle Fire I read Entertainment Weekly on there too. I actually like it better than my paper version since it’s interactive and I can click links for movie trailers, etc. Thanks for stopping by!
Heather recently posted..Resources for Free Kindle Books
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Heather! I love this post! I will definitely be pinging it on my next post for the Why Buy the Cow challenge. Thanks for the great info and links. 🙂
Missie, The Unread Reader recently posted..My Book Boyfriend (70): Elder
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That’s so nice, Missie! I really appreciate it! I’m glad I could provide something useful, and thanks for commenting.
Heather recently posted..In My Mailbox – Heather’s Beat the Heat Edition
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[…] at Bewitched Bookworms posted about some places that she gets free Kindle books. That’s definitely something you’ll want to check […]
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