The most successful bloggers are leaders. They take risks, try new things, experiment, think outside the box, stand out and share what they know. They're innovative, creative an unique.
Simply put, if you're a blogger, aim to be a leader.
I'm pretty sure it was Harry S. Truman who said, "Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers."
Simply put, if you want to be a leader (and therefore a better blogger) read!
For me, reading gives me boatloads of ideas, provides lots of blog fodder, keeps me balanced and is just plain fun.
Any veteran blogger will tell you that at some point, you've got to step away from the computer in order to have something to blog about.
(Also, given how many of you are writing ebooks via the How to Write an Ebook series, you should know the trick I'm about to tell you, if for no other reason than to check your ebook's formatting.)
How to easily get your hands on a BOATLOAD of free books from all genres
Enter Kindle ebooks. BUT WAIT! Don't have a Kindle? No worries, you don't need one. That's right. As long as you have a computer, you can read free Kindle ebooks indefinitely.
Blogger or not, if you read and are not utilizing Kindle ebooks, you are totally missing out!
Here is a fraction of the ebooks I've gotten for free
This list will give you a tip-of-the-iceberg idea of what books are available for free if you know how to find 'em. (I'll tell you how I found 'em in a minute.) Please note, I grabbed all of these when they were free, but not all of them still are (we'll deal with that in a minute too).
And don't think that free means lame. You'll see a NY Times bestseller here.
I'm listing the title and author, as well as the current Kindle price (i.e. how much money I saved), average star rating and number of reviews as of this writing. I'm also noting how each book has helped me.
- Presentations in Action: 80 Memorable Presentation Lessons from the Masters by Jerry Weissman, $24.99, 4.5 stars, 41 reviews – Super helpful tips for not only speaking but how I present content on my blog.
- Motivational Quotes: 129 Motivating Messages from Famous People, $2.99, 5 stars, 4 reviews – Makes posting quotes on Facebook and Twitter a cinch!
- Disrupt: Think the Unthinkable to Spark Transformation in Your Business by Luke Williams, $11.54, 4 stars, 28 reviews – I didn't read the whole thing (that's what's nice about free – no guilt if you don't!) but gleaned some great tips that helped me really think outside the box with regards to making my blog.
- Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Richard Swenson, $7.99, 4.5 stars, 51 reviews – Helped me in writing Tell Your Time and has given me lots of food for thought regarding time management.
- How To Publish An Ebook On A Budget: An Author's Guide To The Free, Simple Way To Format & Sell A Book For Kindle, Smashwords, iBooks, NOOK and More by Stephanie Zia, $2.99, 4 stars, 21 reviews – Picked up some tips I hadn't heard before in this one.
- Résumés Are Dead and What to Do About It by Richie Norton, $2.99, 4.5 stars, 23 reviews – Gave me fuel for my "got to have a blog" fire.
And just for fun, here are some of the non-business ones (gives you a glimpse into my non-blogging life):
- The Secret Holocaust Diaries by Nonna Bannister, $9.99, 4.5 stars, 226 reviews – Books from World War II are among my favorites. I find them so inspiring.
- Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn, $9.99, 4.5 stars, 60 reviews – One of the most thought-provoking and life-changing books on personal finance my husband and I have read.
- Beyond the Chore Chart: Chores, Kids, and the Secret to a Happy Mom by Kimberly Eddy, $1.99, 5 stars, 13 reviews – Oh I really appreciated this book. Helpful, practical and a reminder about why we should assign chores.
- Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan, $8.54, 4.5 stars, 609 stars – I wanted to read this bestseller as it came highly recommend by many, but I actually liked his other book, Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit ($8.54, 4.5 stars, 211 reviews) even better, which I also got for free.
Here's how…
Step 1: Follow the directions and download one of the free Kindle reading apps. Pick your device (you can download multiple by the way):
- PC
- Mac
- iPad
- iPhone or iPod Touch
- Android or Android Tablet
- Windows Phone 7
- Blackberry
- Or, read instantly in your browser
Step 2: Find ebooks!
Here's my preferred method of finding the best free ebooks on Kindle. First a visual aid:
- Go to the Kindle ebook bestseller lists. It's a good place to start since a lot of the good books organically rise to the top. Saves you time to start here. The image above is a screenshot of what's there today.
- You'll note that the far left column lists all kinds of genres. I am constantly downloading ebooks from all genres including humor, business books, personal finance books, marketing books, internet, children's books, biographies, fiction and tons more. (Click on any of those main categories you see in the image above and get even more specific categories nested under them. Seriously there is no shortage of books.)
- As you'll see, the column in the center lists the Top 100 Paid books. Occasionally I buy an ebook, but I also I check this list to keep a pulse on what people are reading, what people are interested in currently, what people are spending money on and how I might be able to leverage any of that information for my blog and business. Plus I'm just curious.
- The column on the right lists the Top 100 Free books. Yeehaw, I love free. Here we go…
- I quickly browse through. I'm especially looking for lots of 5-star ratings with lots of reviews. I've found these are the best bets.
- I click through to the book, read the description, read some reviews and get an idea if it's a book I'd be interested in. But mostly, you can't go wrong with free, can you? I can always delete them later if it's not my style so I just download!
- When you click through to the book's main page and you want to get it, simply select the device you want to send the book to (that you set up in the step above) and click the "Buy" button (might look slightly different than mine) like so:
That's it! The next page will give you the 411 on retrieving the book. Now read!
My best tips
- Bookmark the main page here: Kindle Bestsellers. The bestseller lists are a bit of a pain to navigate to once you're on Amazon's main page.
- Free Kindle ebooks don't always stay free for long so if you see a free one you like, snag it quick. Many authors make their books free for a very limited amount of time (like a couple of days or even less).
- I try to mention the good ones as soon as I see them on my Facebook page so if you want someone else to watch the lists for you, click the Like button over there in my sidebar to follow me. Easy peasy.
- Note these are not books that are hard copies, just Kindle ebooks. (But the directions above to read on your computer or mobile device couldn't be easier or more convenient.)
- Free ebooks. Major score. Would you consider sharing this post? I am constantly meeting people that have no idea they can get free books from Kindle. They assume they need an actual Kindle to do so. Share below if you'd like to spread the reading love!
Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post.
OH yes! I have come across SO many books that I would never have read because of the free ebooks!
Me too, Johanna! It's nice to be able to try something without spending cash up front. There are some great hidden gems in the Kindle store!
Shared! Thanks, Amy!
Thanks, Sandra!
Thank you! I always wondered how people find the free ones!
It is always amazing to me that people don't know these things, and then someone brilliant like you comes along and takes people step-by-step through the process without making anyone feel dumb or far behind the technology curve. Smarty! Definitely shared. =)
I'll be the first to admit that reading physical books is not my favorite thing to do, but I have read a good number of them (I actually have quite the library in my home office). I always seem to get some awesome ideas from them each and every time. I'm finally starting to read them digitally, and let me say, I actually really like it! It's much better.
Love having the option to read the free e-books on the iPad or my PC. When my children are sick, I enjoy rocking or snuggling with them. When they fall asleep on me, I can continue to hold them and read at the same time. What a great use of time without spending a cent.
Thanks for a great post with specific details on finding the free books. <3
That's got to be one of the greatest benefits–easier to hold a digital book!
Absolutely! BTW, your updated Gravatar looks great!
Thanks, Tracy.
I just started subscribing to your blog and the wealth of information that has come my way via you is astounding! Thank you!
I'm so glad it's helpful! Thanks for stopping by and hangin' out.
I never knew there was a top 100 free kindle book list. Thanks!
Great information! I got Crazy Love and Forgotten God when they were free as well. Currently reading Forgotten God and love it!
So thought-provoking, isn't it?
Great post and perfect timing! Thanks so much for sharing.
I was able to slip a link to this post into Millions of Free Books Just Waiting for You which I just published this morning. Besides Kindle reads, there are all sorts of other ways to access free print books, ebooks, and audio books. Enjoy!
http://anniekateshomeschoolreviews.com/2012/08/millions-of-free-books-just-waiting-for-you/
Also, Thomas Nelson has their BookSneeze program to review new releases for free.
I wish Audible did this since audiobooks are how I "read" these days.
Thanks for the tip about BookSneeze, Penelope. I've heard mixed reviews about the program. Has it worked well for you?
I haven't reviewed from BookSneeze but from other publishers. I don't "read" much since Audible.
Thank you for sharing how to get the free ebooks! I am sharing your article!
Tonya
Great tips, as always! Thank you!
I can't believe there are FREE books on Kindle! Thanks, Amy! I just downloaded 6 free books this morning – including one children's book and two cookbooks. Maybe I'm behind the times, but it's always exciting to learn something new. Love your tips!
Awesome! I'm always getting tons of free Kindle books as well. However, I subscribe to Michael Gallagher's fkbooksandtips.com. I've found some pretty good ebooks through his lists and they're all four stars and above. This is helpful if you don't want to be browsing through Amazon, although you can miss out on a few books.
Wow, Amy this is super cool. Maybe I should start offering my e-book for free on kindle. Currently, it is a very reasonable 99 cents.
Oh, I loved Money, Possessions, & Eternity! Totally agree, that one was a paradigm-shifter for me. And I downloaded Crazy Love for free Easter weekend, but I still haven't gotten to it. Thanks for the reminder!
Love free e-books I love storing them on the free kindle cloud, then I can read them on whatever laptop my kids are not on!
Exactly, I take what I can get too!
Super handy.
I love reading free books on my iPhone and Kindle. I've also used http://www.ereaderiq.com/free/ to find books. They have a ton of ways to search.
I am working on a post just like this. I am a big believer in why pay for something if you can get it for free. It is amazing that so many people pay money (and sometimes lots of it) when I can find the same thing or better for free (or at least cheaper). A little research pays off big time, and all you have used up is your time. Thank you for the information!
Also, a little side note: some of the books you linked to were not free any more
I know, sad indeed. As I mentioned, so many are doing promotions that last only a few days. Gotta get a lot of 'em quick!!
I love my Kindle and have never read so much in such a short time as I have since I got it! Your idea for free e-books is great. Thank you. I have been been using a website called Pixel of Ink until now to point me in the direction of free e-books.
You're very welcome. If you enjoy classics, by the way, check out this section which gives you access to so many more books in the public domain!
I download my free Kindle books for PC to the great indle cloud in the sky. I really need to branch out though; 147 cookbooks is enough for now, don't you think?
LOL!
I do have Kindle for PC and iPhone, and I pay for a Prime membership, but I'm not able to get these freebies because they say they're only free for actual Kindles. Am I missing something?
You shouldn't have a problem even without a Kindle. Where does it say it's only for Kindle?
When I go to the Motivational Quotes book, for example, it says it's $2.99 or:
Prime Members: $0.00 (borrow for free from your Kindle) Prime Eligible
and in the right sidebar where the purchase button is, it only says $2.99 "Deliver to my Kindle Cloud Reader."
Oh, wow! I know how to find free classics in ebook format but I had no idea there was this entire other world.