10 Answers2025-08-08
First, I simple search for “book title DRM-free” or “book title multiformat.” This will typically return the publisher’s own sales page or smaller stores like DriveThruFiction (primarily RPGs and genre fiction with a smattering of novels). DriveThruRPG and all of its sister stores are 100% DRM-free for all of their material. I find that for tie-in fiction, gaming novels and even a fair amount of horror that DriveThruRPG is an excellent resource. Yes, the shopping cart is a bit clunky when compared to Amazon’s but you’ll instantly receive your EPUB, PDF and MOBI files to download as you will with no restrictions as to the number of times you can download the files in question.
7 Answers2025-07-04
I get this question a lot because the book should be in the public domain given its age and influence. However, copyright lasts for a long time. Pauline Réage (the author under the pseudonym) published the book in 1954. In the US, the copyright will expire 95 years after the date of publication, so that would be 2049. Therefore, there is currently no free version of the book from a legitimate source such as Project Gutenberg. All versions of the book are for sale commercially or you can try to get it through a library. Often older books are put on sale for $1.99 or so for a short time, so you might look for a price drop and set up a price drop alert at ereaderiq.com for the Kindle edition.
6 Answers2025-08-08
Unfortunately, the answer to this question is simple: no. You cannot transfer a book you bought from Amazon Kindle Store to another reading app. This is because of the way that DRM works: to allow reading books on various devices, it is locked to specific apps. And circumventing the DRM even for personal reasons is illegal. When buying ebooks, you should look for stores that sell DRM-free books and read them on ebook readers that allow you to read DRM-protected ebooks as well. There are several DRM-free stores, like for example Humble Bundle, Project Gutenberg or even the author’s website.
As for people who have already bought a book and want to format-shift it to another app, ethically speaking, you should be allowed to do that with a purchased item. However, there just isn’t a legal way to do it. Your best bet is to stick to the free official apps of the retailer where you bought your ebook (Kindle for Kindle books, Kobo for Kobo books, etc.). These apps can read your DRM’ed ebooks within their own ecosystem, unlocked for you. The locked garden of inconvenient ebook readers is the price we pay for the locked garden of low ebook prices and vast ebook selection.
3 Answers2025-05-14
There are lots of free websites where you can read books online without signing up to a website first. For classic books that are no longer copyrighted there’s the wonderful Project Gutenberg (long established) and ManyBooks (my current favorite with a great variety of free books of many different types in different formats too). For free audiobooks there’s Librivox, which features free public domain audiobooks for download, all of them read by volunteers.
On the other hand, Open Library allows users to borrow digital books, many of which can be checked out by users without an account. Additionally, Classic Shorts offers short stories and essays that users can instantly read online for free without having to sign up for anything.
10 Answers2025-08-09
There are a few very old Kindles and a few very specialized Kindles that cannot read the latest DRM’d e-books. But any Kindle from the last decade or so should work just fine. If the book doesn’t open it is almost certainly a problem with your library account or your Amazon account not set to the correct region. The help section for Libby is actually pretty good at troubleshooting these kinds of issues.
10 Answers2025-07-28
I have a story to share. A friend downloaded a ‘free’ textbook from a forum in PDF format. Little did he know that the PDF contained a virus which would steal his university login credentials. His identity would have to be recovered from university databases. The risk of contracting viruses, ransomware or even spyware from unauthorized sites, including ‘pirate’ ones, is very real. Even if you are utilizing an ad-blocker, you can never be quite sure of the safety of downloaded files. Yes, the legal route may take longer to arrive at your doorstep (possibly even requiring a library card). But they are safe. That is all that really matters. Protecting your computer and personal data from potential disaster is worth being slightly inconvenienced in finding out how to obtain a free book in the first place.
8 Answers2025-06-06
For my own part, I’ll stick to following copyright on modern bestsellers, and avoid free e-books offered on rogue websites with pop-up ads and the potential for malware. Sites that offer free e-books, such as modern bestsellers, may be offered through library websites, Project Gutenberg, publisher giveaways, and an author’s own website. While these sites may require a bit of extra searching, and possibly a library card, there is much to be said for experiencing e-books through legitimate channels – it’s a much safer reading experience and actually supports the reading ecosystem. Illegal sites have dreadful formatting and sometimes even lack key chapters, leading to a really frustrating reading experience. Why not take the time to search out a free and legal e-book instead, and have a nice reading stroll in the park, rather than taking a risk and going down a dark alley?
6 Answers2025-08-20
I have listed below:
Onlinebooks
Baenebooks
6 Answers2025-07-29
Wikipedia can surprise you as a gateway. Researching a classic author or classic novel often in the sidebar or at the bottom of a Wikipedia article about them you can find a link to a free ebook version on websites such as Project Gutenberg or Internet Archive. These sources are not primary sources, but very useful to confirm whether a work is in the public domain or not and to get directly linked to the free online version. A while ago I randomly remembered a very obscure novel and wanted to read it from time to time. Using Wikipedia I found the free online version within minutes.
3 Answers2025-07-12
Protecting your art from the legal requirements for ebooks as a creative is not fun but necessary. In regards to copyright, it is not necessary to register but can be helpful should there be a dispute over the work.
Conditions of use should clearly outline whether the ebook may be shared by others (the majority of titles will have such conditions included). Other creatives will wish to enter into contracts with co-authors/illustrators to clarify ownership of contributions to collaborative titles.
For books that are distributed around the globe, the laws for different regions can vary dramatically. Germany is notorious for its laws surrounding hate speech online, for example. In Australia, there are laws that require you to honor guarantees that are outlined for your customers. Accessibility to books online is also becoming an increasingly important area, and not complying with local laws in this regard can lead to serious claims of discrimination against people with disabilities. Keeping a record of all changes to your book, and the permission that you have to include certain graphics or text, is also a good habit to get into.