I am always on the lookout for a new way to consume media. Be it streaming on Netflix or buying movies on Vudu, there are thousands of new services cropping up to fill my every waking hour with an incredible amount of entertainment. Recently, I’ve noticed a few new (to me) reading platforms and wanted to share.
Reading Platforms
Hoopla Digital
Hoopla Digital – Hoopla, like Overdrive, works through the library system to offer you free content as long as your library is part of the network. Unlike Overdrive the content is much broader than books and delves into movies, music and comics as well.
Where Overdrive uses license agreements with your local library that require only a certain amount of copies be available to borrow at any one time, Hoopla goes in a different direction and one that I think is a benefit to the reader. They offer 10 borrows per month. Not by the day you sign up either. Calendar month. Nice and simple for someone like me that has way too many subscriptions.
The iPad interface is great. Easy to use. My one complaint is that it does not list new releases in a separate tab. Sometimes that can be a pain. Overall this is a great service that really needs to carry my books! See if your library is connected at Hoopla Digital today!
Free-eBooks.net
Free-eBooks.net was one I had never heard about until I was trying to spread the word about Resurrectionists back in January. I was surprised at the amount of content collected on the site. Tons of reading material and, as the name suggests, everything is free.
Depending on the book you can download the Kindle version or the ePub version so that it can easily be uploaded to your e-reader of choice. Always a nice feature.
Inkitt
This one is brand new to me. I received an e-mail about Inkitt last week and still have to delve into it more closely but they offer a number of books for free much like Free-eBooks.net. Depending on how well you, and the rest of the reading audience, enjoyed the book – please be sure to always rate it – Inkitt may provide the author a publishing deal.
(You might be hearing about this one more in the future…)
Only a certain number of free copies are available so browse early and often.
There is one more site I’d like to mention, not because it offers free books like the other reading platforms mentioned but because of an incredible service it provides for local bookstores.
Indiebound
You might have noticed this one lately, since I’ve been including it on the sales pages of my books. Indiebound is a search engine where you can plug in the book you’re on the hunt for as well as your zip code and the site will provide you with a list of independent bookstores where you can make your purchase.
This is HUGE for the little guy, trying to stay alive in an Amazon dominated world. I highly recommend using this service when searching for your next read.
Thanks for reading.
