Reading for free
Reading is a great way to pass the time, so in today's blog, we're highlighting free resources for reading online.
Libraries
Libraries have been buying electronic books and magazines for some time, and it's more than likely your local library will have a range of books for you to download and read, free of charge. East Sussex Libraries have links to their resources on this page, which also include audio books.
University, college and school libraries will also have electronic resources, and if you are working on projects and assignments, make a point of using them - these curated (collected and indexed) resources are good quality, and won't be free on the internet - the libraries pay for them.
Free E-stories
A large number of electronic magazines (ezines) have been popping up over the past decade. Many of them offer the chance to read stories for free. (Unfortunately this often means they also don't pay writers) Each one publishes different types of stories, so if one e-zine doesn't appeal, try another.
The stories do go through a selection process and quality control, to ensure there is a good standard of writing. The list is by no means comprehensive.
- Books 'n pieces : bookstore; interviews and stories
- Cauldron: A magazine of the wildly feminine My story the Making of monsters appeared on page 10 of this issue. (Medusa)
- CommuterLit.com 'CommuterLit.com posts a new short story, novel excerpt or poem each day from Monday to Friday, specially formatted to read on a mobile device (smart phones, iPads, Blackberries). ' My story 'Real or Imagined' was published here earlier this year.
- Electric Literature: ' your ultimate source for the best in contemporary fiction, including short stories and novel excerpts from today's most dynamic voices.'
- Everyday Fiction: bite sized stories for a busy world
- https://forbookssake.net/ 'our mission is to create a community that centres, supports and champions writing by womean and girls, challenging inequality and empowering women and girls of all backgrounds to tell their stories..'.
- Fleas on the dog: 'We're a no frills, brown bag lit rag with only one focus: GOOD WRITING.'
- The New Yorker: 'The New Yorker is considered by many to be the most influential magazine in the world, renowned for its in-depth reporting, political and cultural commentary, fiction, poetry, and humor. In addition to the weekly print magazine'.There is a short story by Stephen King you can read on this site.
- Wattpad: 'The world's most-loved social storytelling platform'.
- I've been published in a few of these sites, and there are links to the stories on my writing website.
E-Books
Project Gutenberg has a huge range of books and stories available online in several formats. Many of the books are out of copyright, so the titles tend to be older.
Amazon: There are a large number of free books available for Kindle, although it may take some searching to find them. They do tend to be older, classic titles. Amazon Prime subscriptions include 'free' ebooks and magazines.
Read Print has a wide range of books and stories, again, largely those no longer in copyright.
Many authors are making their work available for free, and this blog lists authors reading their work for children.
Once you've worked your way through these, a quick search for 'reading for free' should see you through this time!
Happy Reading.