Resources
You do not need to spend money to read the great books. Most of the classics in this library are in the public domain and free to read, download, and keep, and nearly every modern book and translation can be borrowed free with a library card. Every source below is legitimate and legal.
These libraries publish works whose copyright has expired, or that rights holders have chosen to share. You can read online or download and keep the files.
Start here: 635 works in this library have a built-in full-text reader, with section links and quotations set beside the text. Browse all works and look for the full-text link on any work page.
The largest and oldest free ebook library, with more than 70,000 public-domain titles. Start here for almost any older classic in English, and check the title page for which edition or translation it reproduces.
Carefully proofread, beautifully typeset editions of public-domain books, with modernized spelling where appropriate and clean covers. The best choice when you want a comfortable reading copy on an e-reader.
Volunteer transcriptions checked line by line against scans of the printed page, so you can see exactly what the original edition said. Strong for poetry, speeches, historical documents, and older translations.
The essential free shelf for Christian reading: the Church Fathers (the full Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers sets), Augustine, Aquinas, the Reformers, Bunyan, and centuries of devotional writing.
Greek and Latin texts side by side with English translations, plus click-a-word dictionary and grammar help. Ideal for Latin and Greek students and for checking what Homer, Virgil, or Plato actually wrote. The newer Scaife Viewer (scaife.perseus.org) offers a cleaner reading layout.
Millions of books scanned from university libraries. Limit your search to Full View to see the public-domain volumes anyone can read, which is the best way to find a specific older edition, translation, or commentary.
A huge collection of scanned public-domain books, including many old school editions, annotated texts, and translations that are hard to find elsewhere.
A friendly catalog of public-domain classics and free titles shared with the author's permission, with easy downloads for e-readers. Expect promoted titles alongside the classics; a free account may be required to download.
Scholarly editions of political philosophy, law, history, and economics, from Aristotle and Cicero to Locke, Montesquieu, The Federalist, and Tocqueville. Especially useful for government and senior-thesis reading.
Listening is a fine way to meet a long book, and a good way to hear poetry and drama as they were meant to be heard.
Free public-domain audiobooks read by volunteers, from Homer and Dante to Dickens and Austen. Quality varies by reader, so try a few minutes of a recording (or compare several versions of the same book) before you settle in.
Modern translations, critical editions, and newer books are still under copyright, but you can borrow them free, just as you would from a library shelf.
Borrow digitized copies of modern books with a free account, one reader per copy, as a library lends a print book. Good for checking a particular translation or reading a chapter for class.
The Internet Archive's controlled-lending collection of in-copyright books, borrowed for a limited time with a free account. Handy for older modern translations and out-of-print scholarship.
Your public library's ebooks and audiobooks on your phone, tablet, or e-reader, free with a library card. Place holds on popular titles, and add cards from more than one library if you have them.
Instant borrowing with no waiting list at libraries that subscribe, including ebooks, audiobooks, and graphic novels. Your library sets a monthly borrowing limit.
If your library does not own a book, ask for it through interlibrary loan (usually a form on the library's website or a request at the desk) and it will borrow a copy from another library. Search WorldCat to see which libraries hold the edition you want.
Many states run statewide ebook, audiobook, and research collections that any resident can use free with a local library card, and some state libraries issue cards directly. Search for your state library's website or ask your librarian what your state offers.
A free Library of Congress program that lends talking books and braille, by mail and by download, to readers with visual, physical, or reading disabilities that make standard print difficult.
A library card is the single most useful free tool for a reader. In most places it costs nothing for residents and takes a few minutes.