Have you been looking for sites to read online without downloading? Just as there are many sites to download e-books, there are also many sites to read free books online without downloading.
If you don’t want to store e-books on your phone or laptop because they take up space, there is an alternative option, which is to read online without downloading.
You are reading: How to read books online without downloading
reading online without downloading is a good way to save space. however, we recommend that you download the books you want to access at any time.
what does it mean to read online without downloading?
read online without downloading means that the content of a book can only be read while connected to the internet.
no downloads or software required, all you need is a web browser like google chrome, firefox, safari, opera, internet explorer, etc.
Reading online is similar to reading a downloaded e-book, except downloaded e-books can be read without an internet connection.
list of the 20 best sites to read free books online without downloading
Below is a list of the top 20 sites to read free books online without downloading:
- project gutenberg
- internet archive
- google books
- free-ebooks.net
- manybooks
- open library
- smashwords
- bookboon
- bookrix
- hathitrust digital library
- open culture
- read any book
- loyal books
- international children’s digital library
- read central
- the books page online
- riveting
- overdrive
- free children’s books
- public shelf.
The 20 best sites to read free books online without downloading
1. project gutenberg
project gutenberg is a library of over 60,000 free e-books. Founded in 1971 by Michael S. hart and is the oldest digital library.
the gutenberg project does not require any special applications, just normal web browsers like google chrome, safari, firefox, etc.
To read a book online, simply click “read this book online: html”. once this is done, the workbook will open automatically.
2. internet archive
internet archive is a non-profit digital library that provides free access to millions of books, movies, software, music, websites, images, etc.
To start reading online, simply click on the book cover and it will open automatically. you must also click on the book to change the page of the book.
3. google books
google books works as a search engine for books and also provides free access to books out of copyright or in public domain status.
There are over 10 million free books available for users to read and download. These books are public domain works, free at the request of the copyright owner, or copyright-free.
To read online for free, click on “google free ebooks” and then click on “read ebook”. Some books may be available to read online, you may need to purchase them from recommended online bookstores.
4. free-ebooks.net
free-ebooks.net provides free access to various e-books in a variety of categories: fiction, non-fiction, textbooks, magazines, classics, children’s books, etc. it is also a provider of free audiobooks.
To read online, click the book cover and scroll to the book description, you will find an “html” button next to “book description”, click it and start reading without downloading.
5. many books
manybooks is a provider of over 50,000 free ebooks in different categories. the books are also available in more than 45 different languages.
manybooks was established in 2004 with the goal of providing a vast library of free books in digital format.
To read a book online, simply click the “read online” button. you can find the “read online” button next to the “free download” button.
6. open library
Founded in 2008, the open library is an open internet archive project, a non-profit library of millions of books, software, music, websites, etc. free.
See Also: Does Roach Die in the Witcher Books? Season 2 Insight!
The Open Library provides free access to over 3,000,000 eBooks in a variety of categories, including: Biography, Children’s Books, Romance, Fantasy, Classics, Textbooks, etc.
Books that are available to read online will have a “read” icon. just click the icon and you can start reading without downloading. not all books are available to read online, you will have to borrow some books.
7. crush words
smashwords is another one of the best sites to read free books online without downloading them. Although Smashwords isn’t completely free, a significant number of books are free; over 70,000 books are free.
smashwords also offers e-book distribution services for self-publishing authors and e-book retailers.
To read or download free books, click the “free” button. ebooks can be read online using smashwords online readers. smashwords html and javascript readers allow users to sample or read online through web browsers.
8. bookboon
If you are looking for free textbooks online, you should visit bookboon. bookboon provides free access to hundreds of free textbooks written by professors from the best universities in the world.
This site focuses on providing free textbooks for college students. is among the best websites to download free pdf textbooks.
Once you’ve signed up, you can read over 1,000 free textbooks online without downloading. just click “start reading”.
9. bookrix
bookrix is a platform where you can read or download books by self-published authors and books in public domain status.
You can find free books in a variety of categories: fantasy, romance, suspense, children’s/youth books, novels, etc.
Once you’ve found the book you want to read, simply click on the book cover to open the details. you will see the “read book” button next to the “download” button. just click on it to start reading without downloading.
10. hathitrust digital library
the hathitrust digital library is an association of academic and research institutions offering a collection of millions of digitized titles to libraries around the world.
Founded in 2008, hathitrust provides free legal access to over 17 million digitized items.
To read online, simply type the name of the book you want to read into the search bar. after that scroll down to start reading. you can also click “full view” if you want to read in full view.
11. open culture
open culture is an online database that provides free download links to hundreds of e-books, which can be read online without downloading.
also offers links to free audiobooks, online courses, movies, and free language lessons.
To read online, click the “read online now” button and you will be redirected to a site where you can read without downloading.
12. read any book
read any book is one of the best digital library to read books online. offers books for adults, youth and children in different categories: fiction, non-fiction, action, comedy, poetry, etc.
To read online, click on the image of the book you want to read, once it’s open, scroll down and you’ll see the “read” icon. click full screen to make it full.
13. loyal books
loyal books is a website containing hundreds of free public domain audiobooks and ebooks, available in approximately 29 languages.
books are available in a variety of categories, such as adventure, comedy, poetry, non-fiction, etc. they are also books for children and young people.
See Also: 10 Best Dog Training Books – Positive Reinforcement, Obedience & FAQs
To read online, click “read e-book” or “e-book text file”. you can find those tabs after the description of each book.
14. international children’s digital library
We also considered younger readers when compiling the list of the 20 best sites to read free books online without downloading.
The International Children’s Digital Library is a free digital library of children’s books in over 59 different languages.
users can read online without downloading by clicking “read with icdl reader”.
15. core reading
read central is a provider of free online books, quotes and poems. has over 5,000 free online books and several thousand quotes and poems.
here you can read books online without downloads or subscriptions. To read online, click on the book you want, select a chapter and start reading without downloading.
16. the online books page
Unlike other websites, the online books page does not host any books, but instead provides links to sites that you can read online without downloading.
the online books page is an index of more than 3 million online books that can be freely read on the internet. Founded by John Mark and housed at the University of Pennsylvania Library.
17. riveted
riveted is an online community for anyone who loves young adult fiction. It’s free, but you need an account to access the free readings.
riveted is owned by simon and schuster children’s publisher, one of the world’s leading publishers of children’s books.
Once you have an account, you can read online for free. go to the free reading section and choose the book you want to read. then click the “read now” icon to start reading online without downloading.
18. overdrive
Founded in 1986 by Steve Potash, Overdrive is a global distributor of digital content for libraries and schools.
offers the world’s largest catalog of digital content to more than 81,000 libraries and schools in 106 countries.
overdrive is completely free to use, all you need is a valid library card from your library.
19. free children’s books
In addition to the international children’s digital library, free kids books is another website to read free children’s books online without downloading.
free kids books offers free children’s books, library resources, and textbooks. books are categorized into infants, children, older children, and young adults.
Once you’ve found the book you want, click on the book cover to see the book’s description. a “read online” icon is located after each book’s description. just click on it to read the book without downloading it.
20. public shelf
publicbookshelf is one of the best sites to read romance novels online for free. you can also share your works on this site.
publicbookshelf offers romance novels in various categories such as contemporary, historical, regency, inspirational, paranormal, etc.
we also recommend:
- 200 free pdf medical books for your studies
- 100 best free online books for kids and adults
- how to get free pdf college textbooks
- 30 free printable Bible study lessons with questions and answers pdf
- 40 Bible quizzes with questions and answers pdf.
conclusion
With the top 20 sites to read free books online without downloading, you no longer have to worry about having too many books on your phone or laptop.
We have reached the end of this article, we hope you have found a site to read books online without downloading. Which of these sites do you find easy to use? let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
See Also: Caroline Graham – Book Series In Order