Novel Ideas: Your Guide to Cheap (or Free) Ebooks Around the Web

If we had all the money in the world, we’d probably spend it on books. But, since we don’t, we have to find ways to get as many books as we can without going bankrupt. In the interest of sharing knowledge and saving money, we present to you this list of book bargains.

Now, go forth and download!

Your Favorite Apps (Free/Discount) – Nook, Kindle, Kobo, iBooks. They all have deals on ebooks. Nook has Free Fridays. Kindle is always having $0.99 sales and free promotions. Chances are if it’s discounted at one retailer, it’ll be discounted at the others.

Book Bub (Free/Discount) – An amalgamation of ebook deals from around the web, sent to your email with your favorite genres. Includes self-published and traditionally published books.

Riffle Select  (Free/Discount) – In addition to taking on Goodreads as a social networking platform for book lovers, Riffle sends ebook deals daily to your inbox.

Bookperk (Discount) -HarperCollins select ebooks on discount. Grab them while they are hot!

Blogging for Books (Free) – Get free books from Crown Publishing in exchange for a blog review. You have the option of receiving digital and/or physical copies. All yours to keep.

Edelweiss (Free) – This one is for book bloggers and reviewers, featuring an extensive catalog of titles from just about any publisher you can think of. They also have a deal in place with Blogging for Books for digital ARCs.

All Romance Newsletters – Free ebooks. Discounted ebooks. Entire publishers’ catalogs of ebooks on sale. Traditional and self-published ebooks. Download their eReader app and get 6 free ebooks. I’m sensing a pattern here…

Lit Flash (Discount) – A new service from Penguin Random House sending you a daily email on book discounts in the genres you choose.

First To Read (Free) – Advanced copies of the newest books from Penguin Random House in a variety of genres. Be wary, though. These are only on loan and will disappear from your device after a certain date.

NetGalley (Free) – Request copies of upcoming books! This is designed for bloggers who already have a great social media presence. Higher approval rating if you blog/review the book online. Like First to Read, these are also only on loan.

Local library (Free) – Well, of course you should be checking your library! Most, if not all, libraries should have ebooks to borrow. Also be sure to link your library account with both Overdrive and 3M. Many libraries, like NYPL, will have certain titles available on one and some titles available on the other. Sometimes on both. Do yourself a favor and browse both when looking for your favorite books.

You’re welcome!