Free online ebooks and audio books

By Bobbi Burger Brunoehler of Bobbisbargains.

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More and more people are looking for ebooks and online audio books, especially with the Nook and Kindle price wars. I’ve been a fan of audio books for quite some time, having spent a lot of time in the car with my kids and because my daughter simply devours audio books. Here are my favorite sites for free and cheap ebooks, in addition to Bargain Babe’s 15 places to get free ebooks.

Public libraries – I frequently visit the Los Angeles Public Library audio books page. You can find your local library’s ebook page starting at publiclibraries.com. Also visit search.overdrive.com, an international database for free library downloads. Many libraries are struggling financially right now and they deserve our support.

LibriVox – This site provides free audio books from the public domain. The cool thing about it is that you can volunteer and help to create these audio books, no experience necessary.

Project Gutenberg – this site has a LOT of free ebooks! This project was started in 1971 by Michael Hart because a new computer was in the research lab at the University of Illinois and there weren’t that many people who knew how to use it. Michael got the idea to type in the Declaration of Independence and send it to everyone in the network. Now there are over 32,000 free ebooks you can download to your computer or portable device.

Learn Out Loud – this site focuses on educational material including podcasts, videos, MP3s and audio books.

Tip: except for public libraries, most of the free ebook and audio book sites carry titles that are in public domain. That means the copyright has expired, making the books at least 50 years old.

What is your favorite free audiobook and ebook site?

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