The Apple Book store is one of the most popular places to purchase ebooks, but it doesn’t compare to Amazon when it comes to the sheer quantity of books. This means that some of the free iBooks immediately available on the Apple Store aren’t exactly the highest quality. After downloading several of these poor quality novels, you may start to wonder if any of the free ebooks are worth it.
Here’s the hard truth about the free iBooks: while many free iBooks are free because they’re low-quality, there are a few really great free iBooks mixed in. However, many of these high-quality free iBooks are only available for a limited time during special promotions. So, if you’re not able to check in daily to see what’s new, you’re probably missing out on some great free books. Below we’ll explain how to not only get free iBooks for your iPhone, but how to get high-quality iBooks.
Do I Have to Get Books from the Apple Book Store If I Have an iPhone?
Many phone users believe that if they have an iPhone, they have to download ebooks from the Apple Book store. However, that is not true. iPhone users have many options to read ebooks, including installing apps that connect with your Kindle, Kobo, or Nook accounts. This makes it so that you can read books from any major ebook distributor. You can also download epub and pdf book files from a variety of sources and sideload these ebooks onto your iPhone as well. By using these additional sources, you can vastly improve your selection of free iBooks for iPhone. However, this doesn’t help you know which of the hundreds of free ebooks are worth it. And several of Amazon’s high-quality free ebooks are only available through their paid Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Where to Get Free iBooks for iPhones
Book Cave
Book Cave is one of the quickest ways to see what high-quality ebooks are currently available for free. Book Cave works with authors to learn when an author’s books are going to be free or deeply discounted, and send customizable daily emails to notify their subscribers. Don’t worry if you aren’t signed up for the daily emails yet; they also list the current book deals on their site. So head on over to browse their selections of limited-time free iBooks! They also have monthly group promotions where you can download ebook files straight from the authors themselves. By signing up for a service like Book Cave, readers are notified of the limited-time, high-quality ebook deals without having to spend their own time checking the stores and vetting ebooks to see if they’re worth it.
Smashwords
Smashwords stands apart from other book retailers because of its popularity with independent authors and publishers. In fact, Smashwords is so well liked by independent authors that they sometimes make their books free on Smashwords and paid on other sites. So it’s worth checking into Smashwords from time to time to see if they have any great ebooks there that aren’t available through other retailers.
Project Gutenberg
Many great classic novels are free in the public domain, but they often get mixed in with lower-quality ebooks through retailers like Amazon. By going directly to Project Gutenberg, you can quickly find the best public domain books in high-quality formats. Another fun fact is that you can download the first ebook ever made there.
Online With Your Local Library
Another great way to read free iBooks is borrowing it from your local library. That’s right, most libraries are now allowing books to be borrowed as ebooks. This is often done through the OverDrive system. If your library is a part of the system, all you have to do is sign in with your library card and start borrowing! If your library doesn’t happen to be participating in OverDrive, ask if they’re using any other ebook lending systems. If not, check if any other nearby libraries are a part of the system and sign up through them.
In Summary
The best places to download free iBooks for iPhones are:
- Book Cave for limited-time, exclusive free ebooks from authors, through both retailers and direct downloads.
- Other retailer apps including the Kindle, Kobo, and Nook to gain access to their exclusive free ebooks.
- Project Gutenberg for thousands of free ebooks in the public domain.
- Smashwords for free ebooks from independent authors and publishers that are paid through other retailers.
- Local libraries to borrow ebooks via the OverDrive system.
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