Free Downloadable Books (Including Textbooks!)
Free downloadable textbooks
Open Stax
When OpenStax published their first free downloadable textbook in 2012, the non profit company based at Rice University broke the model for college education. The first open licensed college textbook, completely free to students, expanded into 20 open licensed, free downloadable textbooks. Soon, the program expanded from Rice University to other college campuses around the world.
Open Stax’s downloadable textbooks are 100% free to students. They also help students to learn at their own pace and empower both students and professors with free resources.
On the heels of the open source movement, where college students can take free classes for just about anything these days, this development of open source ebooks comes as a much-needed tuition break from the rising cost of college education. According to scholarships.com, the average cost of books and supplies in the United States is $1,100, and with textbooks priced as high as $600 per book in some courses, it’s not hard to see why. For some students, this cost isn’t covered by loans or need-based grants. Many students have to take out private loans on their own credit, just to cover books and other supplies.
Openstax is already supported by colleges such as Auburn University, Houston Community College, Ohio State University. Virginia Tech and Washington State University. Many more are in the process of reviewing the materials available.
Even if the university of your choice is not listed above, check with your professor to see if he or she is open to using the free downloadable textbooks available through openstax.org. Many faculty are not aware that this resource exists and are more than willing to incorporate these textbooks into their curriculum.
Access to free classical literature
Project Gutenberg
In college, you will probably be required to read classic literary works across a number of genres. Rather than going through the expense of buying the books, you can opt for borrowing them from your college or public library. Another 100% free option is Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg offers over 57,000 free eBooks, both in written and audio format. Consider listening to a book while jogging, or commuting to college. These books may be freely used in the United States because their copyright has expired according to US copyright law. Before downloading outside the US you will need to check the copyright terms in your country. Some books are available in languages other than English. If you are interested in volunteering, you can join the thousands of volunteers who assist in digitizing and proofreading the ebooks.
Access to free science fiction and fantasy
The Baen Free Library
In 1999 science fiction writer Eric Flint and publisher Jim Baen founded this library of 70 e-books (August 2018) as an experiment to determine whether the availability of free electronic copies would encourage the sale of their paper books.
Free books and videos on Amazon Prime
Apart from exclusive TV shows, free shipping and numerous other benefits that come with an Amazon Prime membership, you also will be automatically enrolled in Prime Reading.
What exactly is Prime Reading? Think of it as a private library that lets Prime members read more than 1,000 books and magazines at no extra cost.
The best part is that students qualify for 6 months of free Amazon Prime and after that, they qualify for 50% of the membership price.
For more savings, check out this post: Save money with your student ID card.
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