I like to read, and I’m always looking for a new book to suggest to my book club, but I can’t always dish out cash for a hard copy of a book.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll also be interested in finding ways to get free books by mail!
While there are many ways to download and read books online for free, there are also ways you can get books in your mailbox for free with no strings attached.
Table of Contents
Ways to Get Free Books by Mail
Here are legit companies, organization and publishers that send you free books in the mail.
1. Talk to Publishers
You can sign up for newsletters from publishers like Macmillan or Hachette Book Group to learn how to enter in sweepstakes to win free books. Their newsletters also offer information on authors, suggestions on new books to read, and more.
Here are two publishers with sweepstakes to win books:
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- Macmillan
- Hachette Book Group
Other publishers
Not all publishers have sweepstakes but they do have newsletters you can sign up for free.
- Penguin Random House
- Simon & Schuster
Joining their newsletter is 100% free and even if you don’t get totally free books, you may be able to receive exclusive coupons and promo codes that could save you money on books you buy.
2. Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Journal
Got kids between grades 1 and 6? Get them to participate in B&N’s summer reading program and if they read any eight books they can pick out a free book! For a pdf with details on the program, click here.
3. Bibles for America
You can get a free study bible sent to you in the mail if you sign up for Bibles of America. You can also sign up to get email notifications when other Christian texts are available.
4. Bookloons
This is a book review site that also features a collection of contests you can enter to win books for young readers or adults. Basically you get free books in exchange for reviews.
5. Braille Books Program
According to the CDC, almost 3% of children in the US are blind or visually impaired. Children shouldn’t be kept from reading just because they have an impairment, so the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults has created a service to provide blind children with a book in braille every month!
6. Conmigo
In addition to access to 52 free eBooks, members of Conmigo also qualify to enter contests to win Spanish-English books for children from Pre-K to the 5th grade.
7. Craigslist
People give things away for free all the time on craigslist. Sometimes it’s just an old couch, but other times its books! Keep in mind that free stuff can go fast on sites like Craigslist, so keep an eye out and act fast if you see something you want.
8. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
For kids five and under, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a source of free books regardless of their family’s income. The program isn’t only available in the US, either. Since 2019, free books for children have been available in the Republic of Ireland, as well as the UK and Australia.
9. Freecycle
Freecycle is a network that connects people who want to give things away to people in their community who want free stuff. There are a whole bunch of things on offer on the site, books included.
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10. FreshFiction
If you don’t mind handing out your opinion on the things you read, FreshFiction might be the site for you. If you join, you’ll be sent free books. All you have to do is review each one you get, and the books will keep flowing.
11. Goodreads Giveaways
Want to read books before they’ve come out? Goodreads offers the opportunity to win prerelease books from publishers and independent authors. Most are only offered in kindle edition, but there are some print books you can win, too.
Some of the books they are giving away right now are:
- Aftershocks: A Memoir by Nadia Owusu
- Never Look Back by Mary Burton
- Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
- Dating Makes Perfect by Pintip Dunn
12. HotelGuides
Whether for planning a trip or as a neat book to put on your coffee table, this site has links to forms you can fill out to get sent a full-color travel guide from all 50 states! They also have options for specific cities, as well as locations in Canada.
13. Jiffy Recipe Book
You can request a copy of the cornbread company’s recipe book for free if you live in the continental US. If you’re not sure whether that’s something you’d want, you can look at their online copy here.
14. LibraryThing: Become an Early Reviewer
LibraryThing is a site that catalogs books from sites across the web. It’s free to join, and they will send you free copies of new and upcoming books to review if you’re part of their Early Reviewer program. They also have a giveaway for their members.
15. Lola’s Blog Tours
This is a very cute site that offers blog-based tours of works of fiction and their authors. You can also participate in open reviews of new releases, where they will send you a review copy of a book in exchange for you posting a review of it.
16. NetGalley
Another review and recommendation site, NetGalley provides its members with advance copies of books to read, review, and discuss! They also have a community of users you can discuss your new books with!
17. Read It Forward
Every week, subscribers to Read It Forward’s newsletter have a chance to win a book along with an assortment of other merch. They also get weekly recommendations for reading material and a look at what the staff there is reading.
Some (Almost) Free Books
Along with free books by mail, there are also some sites that give books that are almost free.
Here are two sites that are worth checking out.
18. BookMooch
Win points by giving books away, then use those points to request free books! BookMooch is free to join. It’s only almost free because you do have to pay the shipping on the books you send out, but you only have to send out one book for every two you receive, which is a pretty good deal!
19. PaperBack Swap
Got a book you don’t want anymore? Trade it in! With over a million available books at any given time, you’re sure to find something worth reading.
Final Thoughts
Free is a hard thing to come by, especially when it comes to physical goods like books. But there are still a number of sites out there willing to offer free books if you can find them.
To find more ways to get other kinds of free stuff online, check out our other articles in our “freebie” category.
And if you have ever received a free book in the mail, I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment below.