So you're stuck inside and even the video streaming servicesdon't sound like a great option anymore.
You need to pick up a good book.
But you're not going to hit the local store (that you keep open with frequent purchases, right?) or your (probably closed) library while you shelter in place.
Nor would you want to order hardcovers from Amazon, since its delivery these days is wonky at best.
What you're probably going to want is an easy-to-download ebook.
We're here to help you, readers.
Maybe not the readers who think $2.99 or even 99 cents is too much for a book.
They need a stern lecture about how costs are not simply about digital distribution—there are editors and artists and authors who need to be paid to keep this whole literature thing going.
However, we do want readers to read, even the latest releases from the big-name publishing houses.
There are plenty of new, modern ebooks out there available for free or close.
If you're willing to spend a nominal fee every month, there are plenty of ways to get an almost unlimited amount of text for reading, and a few are free.
Kindle Unlimited
Photo By Adrienne Anderson from PexelsAmazon's Kindle Unlimited is $9.99 a month for all-you-can-read access to 1 million titles on Kindle devices/apps.
It also extends to some periodicals and audiobooks, and the audio and text can sync to the last place you listened/read using its Whispersync for Voice feature.
It works on any device that supports a Kindle app, which is just about everything.
Amazon also has a couple of services that are superfluous if you pay for Kindle Unlimited, but nice if you want to save a buck.
Kindle Owners' Lending Library (KOLL) is for those who 1) own a Kindle or Fire Tablet (it does not work on the Kindle apps) and 2) subscribe to Amazon Prime for $119 a year.
You can't typically find the books to borrow on the web—you have to look at the complete listing on a Kindle or Fire device itself.
Here's a direct link to the Lending Library.
Click categories on the left to narrow the selection.
Click on the book description and confirm that it says Prime Borrow for Free.
You'll need to go back to your Kindle device to grab it for the borrow period.
You can borrow one KOLL book per calendar month.
There's another perk for Amazon Prime members: Prime Reading.
For no extra cost (other than that $119/year for Prime) you can read from a selection of about 1,000 books and periodicals for free (most are already in Kindle Unlimited, of course).
These titles tend to be older and feel like they're trying to get you to buy more; why else would it only offer the first few Harry Potter books? There are a few Kindle Singles (essentially short novels or stories that used to cost a few cents), travel books, even some classics like The Hobbit and 1984.
Scribd
Scribdis a survivor of the first wave of "Netflix for Books"-type services.
It started as simply being a hosting site for documents, but Scribd now has unlimited books and audiobooks and some magazines for $9.99 per month (after a 30-day free trial).
Titles come and go, much like with movies and shows on Netflix, so the analogy still fits.
It has apps so you can read on iOS devices, Android, and Kindle Fire.
Comixology Unlimited
The premier app/service for reading comics online (also owned by Amazon) is Comixology, and naturally it has a $5.99-per-month (after 60-day trial) service to let you read almost unlimited comics.
Which is a great deal, but don't expect the newest comics—these are all backlog issues from Archie, DC, Dark Horse, Fantagraphics, and Marvel.
It's only a fraction of the total Comixology library, at about 25,000 titles.
Marvel Unlimited
Disney/Marvel have their own unlimited digital comic book service, Marvel Unlimited, which is priced at $9.99 a month (or $69 a year) after a 7-day trial.
For that you can access over 27,000 back issues, saving and reading up to 12 comics at a time on a smartphone or tablet running iOS or Android.
The apps are powered by Comixology's smart panel-by-panel reading. (For more on Marvel Unlimited and other digital comics options, read Everything You Need to Know About Digital Comics.)
Bookmate
Bookmatehas 1.8 million books, including comics and audiobooks, which you can read on its mobile apps for $99.99 a year or $9.99 per month Or read up to 50,000 without paying a dime.
Booklender
Booklender actually ships you physical books or CDs for audio, much like DVDs from Netflix; it claims to have 250,000 titles.
It starts at $9 per month for two paperbacks per month, up to $39.50 per month for 15 books at a time, but it has a lot of different plans such as audiobooks on CD or via MP3.
NetGalley
Are you a "reader of influence"? Meaning—are you someone with a platform who's willing to read books (including some of the newest/latest stuff before it's even really published) and write reviews to get the word out? NetGalleyspecifically sends "professional readers" digital galleys/proofs/advance-reading-copies for free with the expectation of coverage on a blog, magazine, newsletter, or at your place of business—like a library.
Sign up, go in and pick titles you'd like to read and, depending on if they deem you worthy, you may get picked to get them for "free" as long as you make time to write up a review.
Libby/OverDrive
The problem with almost all of these services, perhaps with the exception of NetGalley, is the lag time between the release of the book (or audiobook or comic book) and getting it digitally.
It could be months, sometimes years.
How do you get the newer stuff without making a purchase? Like you used to in the pre-digital age: go to the library...
virtually.
The game-changer here is a service called OverDrive, owned by Rakuten—the company that also owns the Kobo ereaders, which are currently our Editors' Choice picks.
If your local library is signed up with OverDrive—and 45,000 of them are—you can use their apps like Libbyto download free ebooks galore for a limited time.
Just know that the number of books/audiobooks each library can "loan" is also limited, so you may have to wait.
But you can read things in Libby or get them right on your Kindle device or app.
For much more, read How to Borrow and Read Ebooks From Your Library.
The separate OverDrive app does many of the same things as Libby, but Libby has a nicer interface for reading.
OverDrive, on the other hand, also supports other media, like digitized music and movies and TV shows, which are also borrowable from the library.
Similar services include Hoopla and Kanopy, but not all libraries support those.
Read about them all at 3 Ways to Stream Movies and TV for Free Through Your Local Library.
It's still a waiting game for the absolutely newest items—assuming your library even bought the new books to loan out digitally.
That's where accessing multiple libraries is key.
For example, did you know that every single person who lives or works or goes to school or pays property tax in New York State is allowed to get a library card for the New York Public Library? Even visitors to the state can apply for a temp card.
Cards expire, but can later be renewed via your new online account with the NYPL.
It's probably/hopefully similar with major city libraries in other states.
(NOTE: During the coronavirus shutdown of the NYPL, they are not processing library card web applications, but New York City residents can get one via the library's own SimpleE app.)
