Summer Reading: Free Audiobooks and eBooks

Did you know many of your school's summer reading list titles are available in audio and eBook format online? This year you have plenty of options when looking for that always out of stock title. All can be downloaded to a PC or portable device. Here are some websites to check out:

Audiobooks and eBooks can be downloaded from ListenNJ at any time, all you need is an internet connection and a library card. While most titles work the same way as a library book and can be out of stock, we've put together a collection of 125 classic and contemporary novels in audiobook format that allow unlimited use. Most of these titles appear on school reading lists. If you have a PC, you can download any of the titles to an mp3 player or iPod. Mac users can download select titles to their players. The eBooks can be downloaded to any eBook reader except for the Kindle.

This summer, teens can find two free audiobook downloads a week at SYNC, courtesy of OverDrive and the Audio Publishers Association. Starting July 1 and running until Spetember 1, SYNC will offer one contemporary teen fiction title and one classic title. SYNC is a website designed to encourage teens to use audiobooks. The site links to Audiobook Community, where listeners can discuss the week's free audiobooks.

Finally, the audiobook listener can find a host of free downloads at AudioBooksForFree. The website may look basic, but the collection of classics includes titles by Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe, Jack London and Joseph Conrad. All books are read by humans, not computer generated voices.

Free eBooks are fairly easy to find, especially if you are looking for the classics. Most can be read on a PC, any eBook reader that can read ePub or PDF files and the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch with the correct App (try iBooks for the iPad and Stanza for the iPhone/iTouch - both are free).

A good place to start looking for free eBooks is Project Gutenberg, which has over 33,000 titles now in it's digital collection. The project is run by volunteers who scan in out-of-copyright books. It also includes and audiobook section.

Two other sites that offer free eBooks might come as a surprise, Amazon and Borders. It might seem odd that book sellers would offer millions of free eBooks on their sites. Of course, the idea is to get you to buy an eBook reader. But note that Amazon offers a free Kindle App for your PC or device and the Borders site lets you download the titles as PDFs or ePub to use on whatever device you would like, so they really are free.

- Laura N.

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