Free E-Reads

I have to confess, as a writer I have had a turned up nose to the e-readers that are out on the market.  Seeing them as the new downfall of the publishing industry and the evil that is eating away at my breaking into the publishing world, I have kept my distance.  I think I may be crumbling, maybe they aren't that bad.

I am a member of a site called http://www.stumbleupon.com/ it randomly selects registered or submitted sites based on your interest.  It is one of the most amazing ways to burn a few hours and find some amazing sites you never knew you would be interested in adding to your favorites. Here lately, I have been stumbling on a regular basis.   I have found a terrific number of free e-books.  As an avid reader the idea that there are scores of books out there for free does send chills of excitement through me.  As a  writer it makes me sad that there are giant numbers of text that someone slaved over for sometimes years just sitting out there of no value.  It is a little like seeing the clearance rack at the book store, all those shiny sad books trying desperately to tempt someone. 

After 'stumbling' on enough of these enticing free ebook sites, and looking over at that heavy, leaning, stack of dusty books next to my bed I think maybe those new ebooks might not so bad. Plus they may be my way into being published.   

Top 8 free e-book sites:

1. Project Gutenberg- Comes with its own mobile application for any phone.  Having perused many of the titles it, none of them have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, mostly because they came out years and years before the journal was started.  That being said there are still some interesting titles that I wouldn't mind looking at. Jane Austin and Mark Twain will always have a soft spot in my heart. 
2. Manybooks- Supports the same titles but is way more user friendly.  The site gets its books from the Project Gutenberg, but it includes reviews of titles that you may not be as familiar. 
3.  Scribd- Is really cool!  It links up to your facebook account showing your friends favorite books and suggests books you may be interested. This site allows you to submit your own text be it one page or an entire book to share with everyone.  It also has excerpts of books that have just been released mixed in with the self published titles. 
4. WOWIO- Is the self proclaimed only online supplier of online comics.  Although they are not all free they are pretty cheap running any where from $0.99 to $1.50.  
5. Bookyards- Has over 800,000 titles that are all free.  The books that they tout are a combination of philosophy, political theory, Enlightenment literature and some random stories thrown in to the mix.
6. EBookee- Is one of the original free ebook sites.  It was a nice mix of recent fiction, classics, and nonfiction. 
7. Worthy of Publishing- is a site of particular interest to me.  It allows aspiring writers to upload their precious pieces of writing as a test drive.  It gives you a forum to market test your writing and gives readers a forum to have their opinions heard. 
8. Free-ebooks- Has great home page graphics, easy to navigate and is another one of those that are open to the unpublished writer.  What makes this site different is the majority of books are from brand new unpublished writers.  The books are ranked by downloads and library saves.  If you like a new writer then you can select the hyper link and go to list of books by the same writer.  It also has that cool share function that have begun to attach themselves to new articles all over the web. 

Although, I have highlighted many of the exciting sites that are open to new writers it is important to remember that these books have not received the type of editing that the traditional publishing houses require.  Just like watching those growing number of Youtube videos that lack the polish of the professionals there is a certain amount of forgiveness that one must accept when reading one of these indepenendant works.  Just like supporting the young documentarian these are easy and interesting ways to read from the writers of the future and past without having to pay a dime.